


Demons and Dragons

by ErzaDLaw



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Action/Adventure, Eventual Sex, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2019-08-21 16:13:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 33,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16579835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErzaDLaw/pseuds/ErzaDLaw
Summary: After the events of Tartaros, Fairy Tail struggles to work through everything that happened to them. As they begin the next chapter in their lives, Lucy, Erza, and Gray team up with Laxus to take out the demon threat that still lingers over Fiore.





	1. Chapter 1

**This story takes place after the Tartaros Arc with a few twists…**

**Fairy Tail did not disband. Only Natsu and Happy left to train.**

**Lucy's Star Dress will work according to how the story needs it too. Mashima contradicted himself a few times in the Manga, so I am going to write it how I want to.**

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

Lucy let out a heavy sigh as she reread the note that Natsu had left for her. He and Happy would be gone for a whole year—without her. She folded the note back up as she wiped the tears away from her eyes and sat the letter next to Aquarius's broken key. Her heart ached for her best friend. He had lost his father and she didn't get the chance to really talk to him about it, or tell him about Aquarius. Now he was gone.

She looked up at her window and saw the changing of the leaves. Fairy Tail was so different now. Without Natsu and Happy, it just didn't feel like home anymore. Everyone was just a little different—a little more grown up and not necessarily in the good way. A lot of people, like Erza, didn't want to talk about what they had gone through during the battle against Tartaros—herself included. The only person that knew what had happened to her Spirit was Yukino. Libra had visited the other Celestial Mage and said that she was not at liberty to discuss anything, but that Yukino needed to visit her right away. Then when the silver haired young woman appeared at her door, she broke down. There was a huge gaping hole inside of Lucy's chest from her loss. She just didn't know how anything would ever be the same.

The blonde stood up from her chair and decided she better start her day. It was a weird feeling getting up every day and acting out the emotions of life, but being numb to everything else. The guild hall had been rebuilt in record time, because the King of Fiore sought to help with the construction of the guild since Fairy Tail had saved the world from losing magic. Their Master was beyond happy that they had a new guild, but most importantly happy that everyone was safe.

As Lucy rummaged through her closet, she decided on an off-white dress with a floral pattern, deep wine jacket, black tights, and her new thigh high brown boots. She decided to leave her hair down today because it looked good with the scarf that she grabbed. She noticed that since the battle, her clothing attire had changed too. Most days she felt naked and vulnerable, even though she was actually wearing more layers than ever before.

She grabbed her key belt, feeling the obvious weight difference with one less key, and decided to make her way to the guild. The air was crisp and everyone in the street had smiles on their faces as the town of Magnolia bustled and continued on with their lives. The town didn't blame them for the destruction that had been caused, but rather thankful that Fairy Tail had once again saved the day.

* * *

When Lucy walked through the doors of the guild, another obvious difference hit her—the silence. The guild most days got a little loud towards the end of the day once the booze started to flow. But she couldn't help but notice the obvious lack of fighting now that Natsu was gone. Once everyone found out that Natsu had left, most people just laughed it off as Natsu being Natsu. Erza was the only one to ask her if she was ok. She lied and said she was fine. The truth was, she didn't know what she felt yet; anger, sadness, loneliness? She just wasn't quite sure. Obviously others noticed, like Mira and Lisanna. Lisanna had given her a hug and the younger Strauss girl didn't need to say anything else and that was ok with Lucy.

She looked around and saw Erza and Gray sitting at their new usual table, so she made her way over. The Raijinshu and Laxus had established their new table and Lucy was thankful that all of them were doing so well after the battle. The truth is, she wasn't sure how any of them managed to all make it out of that alive, and that thought seemed to linger on the rest of the guild as well.

"Hey guys," Lucy stated as she took a seat across from them.

Erza got a warm smile on her face before she replied, "Good morning, Lucy."

"Hey," Gray sighed out as he held out three job requests and asked, "So do any of these look good to you guys?"

Lucy knew that Gray had been struggling too with the reoccurrence of his father during the Tartaros events and everything Juvia had to do to keep Fairy Tail safe. The Water Woman was a lot different to Lucy as well. The woman no longer fawned all over Gray or called Lucy Love-Rival, instead she had taken more jobs with Gajeel and Lily. God everything was so different.

"I'm not sure," Erza stated as she held up her thumb up to her chin.

Lucy pulled one of the job requests closer to her just as Mira walked up with a bright smile and said, "You three don't need those. Master has actually asked that I speak with you three and Laxus about a joint mission together."

"Laxus?" Gray asked with an arch to his brow, "Why can't he and his team take care of it?"

"They aren't fully healed," Mira stated with a said tone in her voice.

Lucy and Gray looked at each other and nothing else needed to be said, so Erza stated, "Of course, what is the mission?"

Mira waved for Laxus to join them before she handed them the Job Poster and said, "Master wanted me to give this to you four today. Unfortunately he is in Crocus right now discussing the Post Tartaros clean-up in the other cities and countryside. However, there appear to be some residual effects of Tartaros. Apparently some demons decided that they wanted nothing to do with the events and jumped ship before the battle with us even began. This is just an estimate, but the Rune Knights belief that over a thousand demons disbanded before the Games even started. Several of the other guilds have already taken similar jobs, but this one is quiet weird."

Laxus had joined them and took a seat next to Lucy at the table. She and the Lightning Dragon Slayer had never spent much time together, so going on a mission with him would be a new experience for her. Gray and Erza obviously new Laxus very well from childhood so it wouldn't be as weird for them.

Then Mira continued, "Master already briefed Laxus on the details of the mission, but apparently there is a small village named Tsuki that is Northwest of Blue Pegasus's guild in the mountains. It is a popular place for couples to stay because of the onsens that are there."

"So what is the big deal then and what does it have to do with demons?" Gray asked for clarification.

"Nobody can say for sure," Mira admitted, "It's like people go there and then they have absolutely no memories of what happened to them during their stay. All of the couples seem to check out just fine, except several of the women had to be hospitalized for blood loss."

Lucy cringed a little as Mira continued in a sad tone, "One couple almost lost their baby, because the wife was eight months pregnant. She had lost so much blood that she couldn't stand up."

"That's horrible," Lucy breathed out.

Mira nodded her head before Erza asked, "Are we certain that these are demons?"

"No, but Master wanted you to be aware that it is a possibility," Mira admitted, "I would help too, but since it is demons we are dealing with, possibly, I don't know if I would be the best for the job either. I haven't fully adjusted to what I obtained and my magic feels a little sporadic right now. So he thought it would be best to have the two strongest teams' team up, sort of. It should take at least two weeks and if you guys finish early, you are free to stay longer."

"It is no problem at all," Erza stated with a smile, "We shall leave within the hour if that is good with everyone."

Lucy looked at the Jewel amount for the reward and her eyes glowed in excitement for the first time since before Tartaros as she stated, "I'm in!" She maniacally laughed to herself because this job was going to be at least three months' worth of rent, plus groceries, and other fun things.

"I'm in too," Gray stated with a smile.

Laxus just nodded his head and asked the three of them, "Do you guys want to meet at the train station in an hour?"

"Wonderful, I'll let Master know that you four accepted the job when he gets in and I'll have Wendy meet you at the train station with the confirmation of the onsen reservations and to help with your motion sickness Laxus," Mira stated with a smile.

The Lighting Dragon Slayer just grimaced before he stated in his deep voice, "I'll see you guys soon."

Lucy and Erza both nodded towards the man and once he was out of the guild, Gray stated, "This is going to be awkward as hell."

"Why?" Lucy asked curiously.

"A mission with Laxus?" Gray asked with an arch to his brow, "We just trade one Dragon Slayer for another?"

"Nobody is trading anyone," Erza stated, "Natsu and Happy are training. When they come back we will all be a team again. Plus Laxus's team is still recovering. Jobs in Fiore don't stop just because we are all recovering from the last battle."

Gray looked down because he felt a little guilty and Lucy realized that was probably the most Erza had opened up to them about any of the events. True it was going to be odd at first with Laxus being with them instead of Natsu, but then Lucy kept trying to stay positive in her head as she thought about all of that reward money that she would get to take home.

The blonde smiled at her two friends and said, "I'm going to run home and grab my things. I'll see you guys soon!" Erza nodded with a smile at her and she faintly heard the Re-quip Mage ask Mira if she could get a whole strawberry cake to go for their journey.

Then as the cool fall air hit her skin, she got a faint smile on her face. This was the first thing that had really made her genuinely smile since she lost Aquarius. While yes it was a job, she was going to make sure and savor the moment, especially hanging with Erza, at a wonderful onsen in the mountains. Then after they solved the job, perhaps they could stay a few days extra to relax. The world suddenly seemed full of possibilities.

* * *

Lucy felt like she had packed as much as Erza usually does as she hauled her large, pink, chevron print suitcase next to her usual small pink one, which was now just being used for toiletries, toward the train station. She had grabbed Aquarius's key and put it in a small pouch before she safely tucked it away inside of her suitcase along with Natsu's letter. She didn't know why, but she just didn't want to leave it at her apartment while she was gone. It was the only thing she really had of him and the thought of going on a mission and leaving it behind just depressed her more.

"What the hell is all of that?" the familiar voice of Gray called out from behind her.

"My things," Lucy replied haughtily.

"Did you pack enough, Erza?" Gray teased her, but didn't offer to help her with her luggage.

"I wanted to be prepared for anything," Lucy stated, "Like what are we going to do when we are using the onsen? Is there a golf course or tennis courts?"

"This isn't a vacation, Lucy," Gray laughed as they saw Erza and Laxus waiting for them.

Lucy laughed at Gray's statement because her suitcases were nothing next to the mountain that Erza had next to her that Laxus was eyeing wearily.

"Gray! Lucy!" Erza waved towards them, "Wendy and Carla just left. We have our reservations and Laxus already got our tickets. We are sitting in the luxury suite."

The luxury suite made Lucy cringe, she couldn't afford that—yet. She smiled at Laxus nervously before she asked, "How much do we owe you?"

"Don't worry about it," Laxus stated in his deep voice as he grabbed his bag and began to board the train.

Erza began speaking with the train staff about proper handling of her luggage as Gray stood near her and laughed; however, Lucy wasn't letting the price thing go as she chased after Laxus and stated, "Laxus, I insist on paying you back."

The large man stopped so quickly that Lucy ran smack into his back. "Oops, sorry," Lucy stated, but then she saw why Laxus had suddenly stopped. There was an elderly woman who was trying to put her bag above her seat and she was holding up the line. Lucy could hear several people snicker, saying things like  _'Old people shouldn't travel alone'_  and  _'Why are old people so goddamn slow?'_

Lucy was about to cut a bitch for all of the rudeness, but Laxus went up to the elderly woman and asked, "Can I help you with that suitcase ma'am?"

The elderly woman blinked in surprise and replied with a warm smile, "Well that would be very thoughtful of you, thank you."

Laxus just nodded and took the woman's suitcase from her and sat it in the overhead bin before he stated, "Let me know if you need help getting it down if your stop is before mine."

The old woman adjusted her glasses and thanked him, "You are a nice young man and bless you."

Laxus nodded and continued towards their cabin. Lucy smiled at the old woman and wished her a pleasurable ride. Then before she could walk away, the old woman asked, "Young girl, is that young man your boyfriend?"

Lucy's face turned bright red as she stammered out, "N-no, h-he's just in my guild."

"Well, if I was 60 years younger, then I would snatch him up," the elderly lady winked at her.

Lucy eeped at the woman's boldness before she laughed nervously and followed Laxus to their cabin. In her peripherals she could still see Erza lecturing the train workers and Gray just watching the train wreck of the Great Erza from afar.

Once Lucy managed to get her own luggage into the private suite, she grunted as she heaved it over her head to slide it in the overhead bins. Laxus was already sitting by the window with his headphones on and Lucy muttered to herself, "You think he'd offer to help me with my bags—but nooooo. The Great Laxus Dreyar must have a fetish for elderly cougars."

"You say something?" Laxus asked in a booming voice that made Lucy jump.

"Huh? What?" Lucy asked nervously trying to play it all off.

Laxus had one eye open looking at her, but Lucy noticed a faint smirk on his face as she sat down opposite him and said, "Did you hear me though outside saying I want to pay for my ticket?"

"I didn't pay for them," Laxus clarified, "Along with the guild getting help to be rebuilt, the King told Gramps that any missions that could be related to the Tartaros demons would have all expenses paid. Mira didn't clarify this for you guys, but most of the people who have visited this place went to see the king directly and he was the one that sent the mission to us."

"Oh," Lucy replied as she fixed the hem of her dress nervously, "Well that settles that then."

"It settles one of the issues we have today," Laxus stated just as Erza and Gray finally made it to their cabin suite.

Gray took off his knapsack and threw it up next to Lucy's luggage before he took a seat next to her. Erza took a seat next to Laxus and stated, "I don't know how you two can pack so lightly. We are supposed to be appearing to be couples and Laxus brings a duffle bag and Gray brings a knapsack."

"Couples?" Gray and Lucy asked as they looked at each other.

Erza and Laxus looked at two younger mages, who now had their mouths hanging open, before they looked at each other then looked back at Lucy and Gray. Then Erza clarified, "Yes, Mira said that it is a couples place. Gray will pretend to be my husband and Laxus and Lucy will pretend to be husband and wife."

"WHAT?" Lucy yelled.

"WHAT? WHY ME?" Gray asked startled at the thought that Erza would want to pretend to be married to him, "WHY CAN'T I HAVE LUCY?"

The train had started to move and Lucy could tell that Wendy's troia was helping Laxus a little but not fully before Erza asked in a dark tone, "Gray, do you not want to be my husband?"

"Oh…I umm…well…" Gray stammered around.

Lucy gave him a look like 'Don't you dare look at me and drag me into this' before Gray sighed and replied, "Fine."

Erza nodded her head in satisfaction that one item was settled before she held up a pouch and said, "I have wedding bands for us all."

"Huh?" Lucy and Gray now asked again because this was all very fast for them.

Erza sat her hands down on her thighs and asked, "What are you guys not understanding about this mission? Are you both sick or something?"

"Oh no, we get it," Lucy tried to cover for her and Gray. They needed to get their shit together so that they wouldn't piss Erza off, "Wedding bands make sense, since we are all married."

Erza nodded happily in agreement before she handed Laxus his, Gray his, and then Lucy hers. Lucy kind of wiggled in excitement, because she loved wearing fancy jewelry before she joked, "Holy shit, Laxus! You did well!"

Lucy squealed in delight as she put the radiant shaped pink sapphire upon her left hand. The sapphire looked brilliant in the light and she loved that it was surrounded by diamonds. She saw Laxus chuckle a bit before Erza stated, "Gray did very well too."

"Oohhhhh, let me see yours!" Lucy giggled in anticipation as Erza held up her left hand to display a beautifully round white diamond.

"They aren't real," Gray scoffed as he slipped on his silver and blue tungsten ring.

Lucy looked over at Laxus's that appeared to be a black tungsten ring with unique polishing, just as Erza clarified, "They most certainly are too real. Princess Hisui herself picked these out from the royal jewels."

Lucy's mouth fell open at the statement, but then she remembered what Laxus had said to her moments ago about the king paying for any expenses. She supposed that if the king was serious about them eradicating leftover demons then small things they could do to keep their cover would help. But then she tilted her head and asked, "Erza, won't the onsen people recognize us though and know who we really are? I mean, I don't think I will be noticed as much but you and Laxus are kind of a big deal with the Games and all. Won't they know we aren't married?"

"We could have eloped?" Erza stated with a shrug of her shoulders before she added, "These demons might not know anything about Fairy Tail or about any of us."

"From what Gramps said, this onsen was established before the Games," Laxus spoke up, "No outside lacrimas or newspapers are allowed. None of the workers leave the mountain either. It's one of the things that makes this mission so weird."

"Where do they get their supplies from then?" Gray asked.

"Probably delivered," Lucy stated as she thought about what type of demons they might encounter.

Either way, the temporary team all came to terms that the next two weeks might be a little awkward at times, but they were members of Fairy Tail and they had a job to do. However, no matter how odd the job was—all four of them were glad to have their minds relieved from the past few week's events that nearly destroyed all of them.


	2. Chapter 2

Lucy hummed to herself as she watched the countryside of Fiore fly by. Gray leaned his head back to rest his eyes, Erza was reading some magazine about how to be a good housewife so that she could get into "character", and Laxus was also eyeing the countryside as well but had his headphones on.

She felt restless about the fact that they might be facing demons again so soon. She didn't want to lose any more friends. Since she was with Laxus though, she wasn't overly concerned. However, she knew that Laxus had inhaled a lot of anti-magic particles to save his team and Yajima-san. She had no idea how someone could be so strong and come out so unfazed the way he did—any other man would probably be dead. She kind of looked up to him for how he had changed so much from the Fantasia incident. Rarely did people own up to their past mistakes and try and make amends—yet he did. At least she knew at night she would be safe. The only thing she had to worry about was waking up screaming in front of him…that seemed to happen a lot more now. Almost every night she had to relive losing Aquarius all over again. She couldn't find reprieve while being awake either. She had started drinking a little bit more, not enough to be an alcoholic or anything—like Cana. But having a glass here or there of something when she was home to take the edge off seemed to help, especially with a bubble bath. She honestly felt like awake or sleep, she couldn't escape from the hellish nightmare that she had to live. She was glad that she had bought some sleeping pills earlier that week—otherwise the next two weeks would be very long.

"Lucy," Erza spoke up, "I have finished my magazine. Would you like to borrow it? It gave me some excellent tips to help me be a better wife to Gray and how to make our marriage last."

She heard the Ice-Make Mage groan next to her. When Erza was devoted to something, she went all in—no questions asked. She couldn't help but smile and laugh before she replied, "No thanks, Erza. Laxus and I have a happy marriage. Isn't that right, Honey?"

The Lightning Dragon Slayer looked at her with his stormy grey eyes and when he saw the mischievous smile on her face, he replied in his deep voice, "We are beyond happy."

"Excellent," Erza nodded in understanding before she stated, "Although, I do think we should get our stories all straight before we get there."

"How so?" Gray sighed out as he finally opened his eyes.

"I've been thinking about what Lucy said, about Laxus and I being recognizable," Erza admitted, "While they might not know anything about Fairy Tail, since they set this operation up before the Games, I still don't think it's wise to flaunt what guild we are in."

The other three contemplated what Erza had said before Gray pointed out, "That makes sense, but any of the guests could recognize us. We might fool the workers of the onsen—but we can't fool all the guests too."

"That is a valid point, husband," Erza stated with a smile.

"Oh my god," Gray groaned at Erza's role-playing.

Lucy thought about their predicament and offered a suggestion, "Well we could do several things…" Everyone turned to listen to her as she thought out loud, "Cancer could easily cover up our guild insignias with make-up and even dye our hair or give us contact lenses for disguises. Or we could go with what Erza first suggested on the elopement theme. Then that way we don't have to worry about being recognized or not or mixing up lies and all of that nonsense that is sooo stereotypical of many tv shows. The demons don't know we are coming for them and if we play it cool, we could easily still investigate, or they could reveal themselves even sooner because they feel threatened and we kick their asses. Then we can relax at the onsen demon free!"

Erza, Laxus, and Gray all thought about Lucy's various ideas. Erza agreed that it would be wise to stay away from the usual trope of having disguises and code names.

However, Gray eventually sighed out, "Why in the hell would us four elope with each other?"

"Why the hell not?!" Erza asked in anger, "I'm an attractive woman, Gray Fullbuster and I demand that you respect your wife."

Lucy and Laxus both shrank at the wrath of Erza and Gray bowed down in submission, but quickly corrected himself, "Sorry, Erza…but here me out." The Ice-Make Mage pointed at Lucy and said, "Me marrying you Erza, or marrying Lucy makes sense. We were on the same team and if anyone does recognize Lucy and me, then they will know we are close friends. You and Laxus make more sense, because you two, along with me, grew up in the guild together." Then Gray turned to Lucy and Laxus and pointed out, "But Laxus and Lucy? You guys don't hardly interact at all—so it makes more sense for me to be with Lucy and Erza to be with Laxus."

Lucy could tell that Laxus was studying Gray closely and Erza was starting to see Gray's logic before she asked, "Should we switch couples then? Gray's right, Laxus and I have known each other since we were kids—that could be logical to people. Plus we could put on a ruse and say that we are trying to produce the most powerful baby in all of Fiore."

Lucy saw a little bit of panic in Laxus's eyes, and likewise she was panicking too. If she was alone with Gray for too long, he'd probe her with too many questions. He would know something was up, because she couldn't hide her despair for 24 plus hours straight, so she quickly cleared her throat and blurted out, "Laxus and I have been secretly sleeping together ever since he rejoined the guild!"

Silence engulfed the cabin before Gray and Erza both asked in shock, "Huh!?"

Laxus even looked shocked at her with wide eyes before Lucy thought about what she had said. Before she quickly corrected herself, "That is the story we would tell people. We haven't really been doing that, but nobody else would know otherwise. Then we could say that when we almost lost each other recently, we realized that we no longer wanted to keep our love a secret and eloped."

Then Lucy turned to Erza and Gray and said, "Then you two can play the childhood lovers that were dating in secret, then eloped."

Gray gave her a curious look, while Erza thought about Lucy's counter proposal. The Ice-Make Mage then took a deep breath before he teased, "Well let's just hope that none of Laxus's ex-lovers are also at the onsen—otherwise you might find out that your secret boyfriend was cheating on you."

Laxus gave Gray a glare that made Lucy shudder before she waved off Gray's retort and stated, "We could have had an open relationship?"

To that response Gray busted out laughing and inquired, "In what world would Lucy Heartfilia have an open relationship?"

"Yeah, that is taking it too far," Erza shook her head with a smile, "Lucy, no man would risk losing you once he had you—not even Laxus."

Lucy blushed at the awkwardness that was now in their private cabin, but luckily there was soon a distraction when the snack cart came around and Erza and Gray stood up to get something. She looked over at Laxus who was still looking at her as though he was trying to figure her out. His gaze sent chills down her spine, but she tried to play it off as she gave him a polite smile.

Instead of smiling back, he just turned to look out the window once more. Lucy let out a light sigh at the events that already happened, before she too turned back towards the window to gaze upon the scenery once more.

* * *

The new team arrived in Oshibana Town early in the afternoon, because they were going to have to rent a vehicle to take them the rest of the way. Lucy smiled as the team began to exit the train, because the elderly woman that Laxus had helped earlier that day was also getting off at Oshibana, so Laxus helped her with her bags once more.

After they had all made it onto the platform and grabbed their bags, Erza stated with her giant luggage cart in tow, "I know the owner of the rentals very well and can go get us our vehicle for the trip. I'll explain how we won't have it back for a few weeks. Gray do you want to come along and then Laxus and Lucy, what if you two find us a place for lunch?"

Lucy didn't seem to mind that at all. She loved finding fun little places to eat in towns. She looked at Laxus who gave her a nod that he was cool with it before she replied to Erza, "That's fine with us, but how will you guys know where we are?"

"Laxus and I still have our communication lacrimas for now, so just call us on that when you find a spot," Erza smiled.

Gray shrugged his shoulders and surrendered to his fate that he would literally be stuck with Erza no matter what for the next few weeks, so he better get used to it now. Lucy sweatdropped at how miserable and defeated Gray looked so she whispered to him, "Gray, it could be a lot worse."

"And it could be a lot easier if I were married to you," Gray winked at her before he went to stand by Erza.

Lucy just shook her head at her friend, because Gray was just hopeless sometimes. Then when she turned to look at Laxus to ask if he was ready, she noticed him eyeing Gray keenly. She cleared her throat and asked, "Hey Laxus, are you ready?"

"Yeah," he replied in his deep voice before he slung his duffle bag over his shoulder.

She gave him a bright smile and asked, "Have you eaten in Oshibana before? Do you have any recommendations?"

As they walked nowhere in particular, Laxus replied, "Yeah, there a few good places that I like. There's a pretty good pizza place a few blocks away, a sandwich shop, and a sushi joint."

Lucy thought about the choices he listed off. She figured that there would be a lot of sushi at the onsen, so she scratched that one out before she asked, "Does the pizza place or the sandwich shop have booze?"

Laxus arched his brow at her before he answered, "The pizza place has some pretty good beer. Why?"

"Well, we won't be arriving at Tsuki until later tonight—so I am going to live the first part up like it is a little bit of a vacation," then she gave Laxus a dazzling smile before she stated, "Laxus, lead us to the pizza joint!"

Laxus snorted at her response, but obliged and nodded his head for them to turn left at the upcoming street before he asked, "Isn't that a little irresponsible since we will be driving?"

"Nope, because I won't be driving," she answered with a laugh, "Erza loves to drive and then Gray usually wants to after her. While I LOVE driving, I let the others pretend to be the Alpha because it effects them more."

"Pretend to be the Alpha?" Laxus asked out of curiosity.

"Erza and Gray both like the idea of being in control. So I let them think they are in control," Lucy stated with an almost devious smile, "I have no qualms about who drives and if it makes them feel better by driving and being in control—then that's ok with me."

Laxus couldn't help but have an amused smile on his face at the small blonde woman next to him when he asked, "So does that really make you the Alpha of Team Natsu?"

Lucy felt like a dagger had gone through her chest at the sound of Natsu's name unexpectedly and then without even thinking about it, she reached for her keys and quickly counted them. She took a steady breath once she counted all fourteen, but she knew it should be fifteen

She knew she had to snap out of her funk because of Laxus so she just shrugged her shoulders with a coy smile on her face. She could tell that Laxus had noticed the sudden change, but he quickly changed the subject and stated in a certain tone, "I think you've been hanging around Cana too much. Lucy Heartfilia—a day drinker."

At his last comment, she couldn't help but let out an amused snort as they had reached the pizza joint. She had no idea how hungry she actually was until she smelled the pizza and waited eagerly as Laxus quickly called Erza to tell them where they needed to meet up.

Once the call ended, Lucy hauled ass inside of the pizza pub and stated, "I'm starving."

She was pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere of the restaurant. It was dark, yet clean, and had all sorts of interesting knick-knacks on the wall along with weird lighting strung up on the ceiling and in the wooden rafters. Laxus nodded for her to join him at a high top in the corner and Lucy knew that if she didn't get something in her system soon then her stomach was going to growl louder than any Dragon Slayer's roar.

As she and Laxus took a seat, a young waitress came up with hearts in her eyes and she asked, "Oh my god, are you Laxus Dreyar? Like  **THE**  Laxus Dreyar?"

"Ehhhhhhh," was all Lucy could say because the woman was practically drooling all over her.

Laxus just sighed and grunted in a low voice that Lucy could barely hear, "Yeah."

"Oh my fucking god," the girl squealed so loud that the sound even made Lucy shudder and she didn't even have Dragon Slayer hearing.

Lucy could tell that Laxus was getting annoyed fast so she cleared her throat and asked the waitress in hopes to move the conversation along to why they were really there, "So what kind of drink specials do you have?"

However, the waitress completely ignored Lucy and instead kept her full attention on Laxus and asked, "Can I please get a picture with you? My girlfriends will just kill me if I don't! Also, can I have your number? I hear you are a real animal in the bedroom."

Lucy's mouth fell open at the forwardness of the woman, but she was fairly certain her heart had stopped when the woman then screamed and yelled, "OH MY GOD! ARE YOU WEARING A WEDDING BAND?! ARE YOU MARRIED NOW?!"

Then the woman turned onto Lucy with a death glare that even rivaled Juvia's and immediately locked onto the large pink sapphire that now sat upon her finger.

However, Laxus ignored the woman and turned to the bartender and asked, "Does all of your staff behave this way?"

The bartender realized who Laxus was and what the waitress was doing when he yelled, "Kara, get back to the kitchen right now!"

Lucy felt completely uncomfortable by the whole turn of events; however, she felt creeped out at the aura that was radiating off of the woman as one of the chefs came from the kitchen to drag the waitress away. Laxus let out a heavy sigh and grumbled, "Well that was annoying."

"Does that happen to you a lot?" Lucy asked in curiosity.

Laxus thought about the question for a moment before he admitted "Yeah, actually it does. Freed usually chases them off for me though ahead of time or Bickslow hooks up with them."

She sweatdropped at the thought of Freed defending Laxus's honor, and was not surprised by Bickslow's actions either, before she asked, "So are you hinting that while we are on this mission it is my job now?"

Laxus continued to eye the menu but smirked before he replied, "Well as my wife, I'd hope you'd fight other women off. Although that'd be pretty hot watching you kick a bunch of bimbos' asses."

Lucy blushed a little at Laxus calling her his wife before she got her wits together and added, "Yeah, yeah—you got a smokin' hot wife who will help keep the fangirls off of you, ok?"

"I appreciate that," Laxus continued to smirk as the bartender came up.

"I am so, so very sorry about that Mr. Dreyar. Can I offer you, and your erm…wife, anything? It is entirely on the house," the bartender asked.

"Well Lucy here was curious about your drinks specials," Laxus stated before he added, "I'll have a water and a large all meat pizza."

"Our tap specials are all drafts 2 Jewels each, wells and wines are 4 Jewels each, and any mixed is buy one get one," the bartender smiled at Lucy as he jotted down Laxus's pizza order.

"Oh my god that's a good deal," Lucy murmured to herself about the drinks before she made up her mind, "I'll do a tequila sunrise and a small The Works with no cheese."

"No cheese?" the bartender asked.

"No cheese," Lucy grinned.

The man nodded and said, "I'll get these right in."

After he walked away, Lucy began to hum to herself before Laxus asked, "No cheese on a pizza? Why did you want to come here then?"

"You said they had drinks," Lucy smiled before she added, "Besides, did you know that cheese almost doubles the amount of calories on a pizza?"

The bartender then pardoned himself as he sat Lucy's tequila sunrise down in front of her. She greedily reached for it when Laxus arched his brow and stated, "I'm pretty sure those lost calories will be found in that."

"Everyone needs balance in their lives, Mr. Dreyar," Lucy laughed as she stirred her drink with her straw.

Laxus snorted at Lucy's honesty and it wasn't long after that when Gray and Erza showed up. Gray immediately took the open seat next to Lucy and stated, "Starting early today are we?"

"It's vacation—sort of," Lucy grinned with the straw in her mouth as she downed her first tequila sunrise. She turned to the bartender and asked, "Can I have one more?"

The bartender's eyes, and Laxus's, widened at how quickly Lucy guzzled the drink down before he called out, "Anything for Mrs. Dreyar."

Erza smiled in amusement; however, Gray looked at Laxus and Lucy and asked in an annoyed voice, "What's that about?"

"Look at your hand, Gray," Lucy whispered as the bartender brought her over another drink then began to take Erza's order.

Lucy wasn't surprised at all when Erza ordered a dessert pizza. Gray looked down at his hand to see the ring sitting upon it and let out a sigh before he ordered a margarita pizza.

Once the bartender left, Erza couldn't help but smile and say, "I think it's nice that Lucy and Laxus are already getting into character."

Lucy noticed that Laxus got a little more reserved now that Erza and Gray were back. Well she wasn't entirely sure if he had really let his guard down, but she did realize that carrying on a conversation with him seemed easy enough when they were alone—minus the fact of when he brought up Natsu's name. However, Lucy just smiled and nodded at Erza to let her friend know that she was in agreement with her.

The scarlet haired mage then turned to Gray and stated, "Gray, how should we act in public?"

Lucy and Laxus both arched their brow as they waited for the Ice-Make Mage to respond. "What do you mean, Erza?" Gray sighed as he ran his hand down his face.

"Well people seem to know that Laxus and Lucy are together, what should we do to solidify our marital status?" Erza asked, completely oblivious to the fact at how uncomfortable she was making her childhood friend.

Then before Gray could answer, Erza grabbed the bottom of his stool seat and dragged it closer to her before she stated, "Come here and put your arm around me."

Lucy nearly spit up her drink at the look of mortification on Gray's face as Erza tried to adjust their bodies to display more PDA. However, Gray stated in a harsh tone, "Lucy and Laxus aren't sitting close, or touching, why should we?"

"Because I read in that magazine today that this would spice things up," Erza admitted.

"Nothing needs spiced up," Gray growled out as he tried to shuffle away from the Mighty Titania.

Lucy could tell that even Laxus looked amused and he was probably thinking about how lucky he was that he was pretending to be married to her and not Erza. Although Lucy did wonder at what it would look like if Erza was cuddling up on Laxus instead of Gray. Then she felt a shudder go down her spine because that would be a terrifying couple to behold.

It wasn't long after that when the bartender brought out all of their pizzas and the awkward team began to feast upon their meal.

* * *

About an hour later, the team loaded up the magical vehicle and Erza called first dibs on driving. Lucy looked over at Laxus and gave him an  _'I told you so'_  look and he just nodded in agreement as they climbed into the backseat together. Then Lucy wasn't entirely sure, but she could have sworn that when she sat down next to Laxus, Gray turned around and glared at the two of them. She didn't know if it was because of something that they did, or from the fact that Erza insisted that he sat by her because they were newlyweds and that is what newlywed couples did.

It wasn't long after the vehicle took off that Lucy noticed that Laxus was already covering his mouth. So she gently leaned over and asked, "Is Wendy's Troia wearing off?"

He just nodded a little so Lucy reached for Gemini's key and summoned the spirits out. She smiled as she turned to Laxus and stated, "Luckily after Tartaros, I decided to copy Wendy—just in case."

The Lightning Dragon Slayer looked relieved as the Twin Spirit transformed into the little bluenette and casted Troia. Lucy smiled and thanked Gemini for their hard work and she smiled a little when Laxus also thanked the spirit before they disappeared back into the Celestial Realm.

"I could have done that before we left," Lucy admitted, "But Mira already had you covered on that. You should know that if you use it too often then it won't work anymore."

Laxus arched his brow at Lucy's statement before he nodded and stated, "Good to know and thank you, Lucy."

"You are very welcome, Laxus," Lucy stated with a smile before she added, "On the way back if we don't want to sue Gemini's help, I did bring some non-drowsy motion sickness pills."

He just nodded his head in acknowledgement before he put his headphones back on and closed his eyes. After that, Lucy reached for her giant bottle of water that she bought so that she could come down from her buzz. She was glad that she could help him in some way, but she was also feeling anxious again and she didn't like being trapped in the vehicle, so she reached into her own bag and grabbed her iLacrima and put her earbuds in.

Her heart began to beat sporadically and painfully as she watched the country side buzz by and The Fray's  _How to Save a Life_  came on. It took everything in her not to cry, but she couldn't find herself to click next on her iLacrima as the song played in her head…

_Where did I go wrong?_

_I lost a friend_

_Somewhere along in the bitterness_

_And I would have stayed up with you all night_

_Had I known how to save a life_

She tried to take a steadying breath as she gazed upon the mountains in the distance and couldn't help but wonder where Natsu and Happy were or how Aquarius was doing…

* * *

Song choice:  _How to Save a Life_  by The Fray

It just seemed to fit Lucy's sadness. :(


	3. Chapter 3

It was super late when Lucy and her team pulled into the magical vehicle parking that was reserved for the onsen guests. When she stepped out of the vehicle, she let out a big stretch that arched her back into a half-moon position and gave out a squeal mixed with a grunt. It felt so good to do a toe curling stretch after being trapped in the car for so long.

Surrounding them was complete silence in the countryside and other than the thousands of stars in the sky, and the one little lacrima light over sign, it was utter darkness. She quickly ran up to the sign as Gray and Laxus assisted Erza with unloading her many suitcases. She stretched her toes one more time before she read the sign out loud:

_Dear Tsuki Onsen Guests:_

_You will be required to leave any and all outside communication devices, newspapers, or any other possession that you might have that would connect you with the outside world in your vehicle. If you do not have a vehicle, there are locked boxes on the other side of the parking lot for you to use. Items such as music, paper books, etc. are free to use in the onsen as they add to your comfort._

_This is a communication free resort, because we pride our facility on being tranquil and being a place for couples to reconnect without interference. It is a chance to escape the realities of the world._

_If there is an emergency, any outside occupant may contact the resort directly and we will notify you._

_If you are caught with anything that would interfere with the peace we have created in our resort, you will be immediately escorted off of the premises and charged a minimum of 1,000,000,000 Jewels._  [Holy shit]

_Please make your way up the steps towards the onsen for a magical experience. If you require assistance with your bags, we will send someone down to retrieve them for you._

_Thank you,_

_Tsuki Onsen Management_

Lucy turned back towards her friends and said, "Absolutely make sure that you guys leave your communication lacrimas, magazines, newspaper, or whatever in the car because the fine is way too high."

"How in the hell are we going to get all your bags up there, Erza?" Gray asked already exhausted from helping his "wife."

"They said that they would send someone down to get them," Lucy piped up with a smile as she ran to her bags.

She quickly studied the steep mountain of steps that they would have to climb and cringed a little. While she could summon out Virgo to help her, she didn't want to draw obvious attention to the fact that she was a mage—just yet. However, there was no way in hell she would leave her bags down here—not with Aquarius's broken key and Natsu's letter tucked into her larger suitcase.

As Erza and Gray bickered about which bags they should try and carry up on their own, Laxus walked up to her and asked, "Do you need help with that one?"

"Please," she replied with a faint smile and a shaky voice, "I really don't want to leave it down here."

She noticed that he looked at her hand, which was now clutching her key belt tightly. She had no idea when she had grabbed it, but she released it upon the realization of where his eyes went. Then to her surprise, he stated bluntly, "Well it's the kinda things husbands do right? Carry stuff?"

She gave him a faint smile and replied, "Well, either way, thank you—Laxus."

He gave her a nonchalant nod before she hid her keys under her dress, after she had make-shifted her belt to hold them up on her thigh. When she turned around, she saw that Erza had requipped into a Kelly green dress with a navy blue cardigan. It looked like she won the argument with Gray, no surprise there, and he was going to be carrying up three of her bags that she "needed" right now.

Lucy went to stand by Laxus and asked, "Ready?"

He just nodded as they began their decent up the giant stairs towards the onsen.

* * *

About twenty minutes later, they finally reached the top and Lucy was ready to strip down because she was sweating so badly. She was mad because of course Erza and Laxus looked completely unfazed, and Gray could cool himself so he was totally fine. She felt like a disgusting sweaty pig.

"Finally," Gray grunted as he dropped Erza's bags off once they reached the top.

"It wasn't that bad," Erza stated with a smile, before she stated in a more threatening tone, "And be careful with my luggage, Husband."

Lucy ignored the two bickering and then finally took in the site before her. Her eyes widened and she whispered, "Oh wow," at the resort before them. The outside was structured simply with grey tiles upon a beautiful ancient wooden frame. The wood made it seem like the building just belonged in the mountains as though it were doing little harm to the actual environment. The resort glowed with all of the lacrima lights in granite lamps and hanging lanterns in the trees. She could also hear a waterfall somewhere, but could not see it. However, the entrance path before them had a little stone bridge with a small babbling brook. Trees with the most beautiful flowers were everywhere. The resort seemed like a hidden paradise and she could see why they wanted to keep it protected from the outside world. It was the essence of a sanctuary.

As her and Laxus walked by one of the trees, her eyes widened when she noticed it was a fully bloomed Cherry Blossom tree. She stopped before it and asked in awe, "How is that even in season right now?"

Laxus caught her eyesight and responded, "It must be some type of magic keeping all of these plants in their most beautiful state, because over there is a Japanese maple that is a dark red."

Lucy looked around the large man and stated, "I think you're right! I love maple trees. They are so fall-esk and make me so happy."

Then to Lucy's surprise, Laxus froze and immediately went on defense—along with Gray. Lucy shifted closer to Laxus and Erza and looked around, but then noticed two women dressed in deep red kimonos, with a light pink sakura print, exit the main building and started to walk towards them.

"Demons," Laxus whispered to them.

"I could feel them too," Gray stated as he took a stance next to both Lucy and Erza.

Lucy looked over at the Ice-Make Mage in concern. She knew that he had obtained some Demon Slaying powers, but she wasn't exactly sure of everything he could do now. She could tell that Erza was fighting back her urge to requip a sword, but then to her relief, she noticed that Gray relaxed and whispered, "I don't since any malice off of them. I think we are good."

Laxus and Erza still seemed rigid as the women finally reached them and bowed. Lucy studied the women carefully, because they did not look like demons at all—they looked like regular women. One woman had deep ebony hair with amber eyes. She smiled at them warmly and asked, "Greetings, you must be Mr. & Mrs. Dreyar and Mr. & Mrs. Fullbuster."

Lucy let out a relieved sigh that they didn't go with the disguise charade, because there cover would have already been blown thanks to Mira making the reservations. Then to Lucy's surprise, Erza stated boldly, "Yes, I am Mrs. Erza Fullbuster and this is my husband, Gray. Our friends here are Laxus and Lucy Dreyar."

"Welcome," the other woman stated with a warm smile, "Do you need assistance carrying anything else up?"

"Yes, I have several bags that are by our parked vehicle," Erza reported with a firm nod.

The two women gave a slight bow and before the second woman with deep green eyes stated, "We will make sure that we send someone down to collect them immediately."

Gray snorted and replied, "You should probably send more than one person—she has a lot of shit."

Lucy sweatdropped at the intense aura that Erza gave off because of Gray's comment and noticed how uncomfortable the two women now appeared. The woman with amber eyes cleared her throat before she spoke up, "Please follow us, so that we may get you checked into your rooms. It is later than most guests usually arrive, so you must be exhausted from your journey."

Since everyone else was being awkward as hell, Lucy spoke up and replied, "That would be very lovely, thank you."

The women seemed to relax by Lucy's statement, and her warm smile, before they bowed in unison and began to escort them to the lobby. As they all walked in silence, Lucy looked over at Laxus who still seemed tense. She wasn't entirely sure at what she should do or say to him. She didn't notice anything off about the women, they seemed normal enough—well as far as demons go. She just assumed that some demons were good, like on Galuna Island. However, maybe something else was bothering him.

* * *

After they entered the lobby, Lucy gasped in awe at the beauty of the modernized onsen. The lobby was now dark; however, it was lit by soft lighting on each pillar that stood away from the gray slick stone walls. The floors were of the richest dark marble that Lucy had every laid eyes, but every few feet sprouted a tree straight up from the floor that were decorated with starry lights that seemed to dance across the room softly. At the center was a peaceful pool with lily pads and two fish; one a deep amber and the other an emerald. It reminded her of the two women's eyes that were now making their way behind the check-in counter. Everything about this place already seemed to soothe Lucy's soul; the naturistic sounds of the water, the smell of the fresh trees and flowers, and the general calming atmosphere.

Lucy concentration was broken when the woman with emerald colored eyes spoke up and said, "Mr. and Mrs. Dreyar, please allow me to check you in."

Lucy and Laxus walked up to the counter as Lucy overheard the other hostess start to help Erza and Gray. The woman smiled at them before she began to write in her guest log book. Lucy looked over at Laxus again and noticed that he was studying their surroundings before the woman asked, "So how long have you two been together?"

She was certain her heart had stopped and she had dropped dead on the spot when she began to stammer about, "O-oh I…Uh well…"

"We just eloped earlier this week," Laxus spoke up in a monotone voice.

Lucy blinked in surprise in response before the woman asked, "So is this your honeymoon trip?"

"The official one, yes," Laxus added.

She noticed that the woman glanced over at Erza and Gray, where Erza was giving way too many details about childhood friends falling in love and eloping. The hostess before them looked back at them and blinked before she stated, "It's nice that your friends have also recently been married as well."

Neither Laxus nor Lucy responded as the woman finally concluded with, "You are now all checked in. We will escort you to your suite where there is a booklet of information available to you during your stay here with us. Unfortunately everything is closed for the night; however, each suite comes with its own personal onsen. Fresh water and a meal have already been prepared in your rooms as well. Now, if you will, please follow me."

Lucy glanced over at Erza and Gray, who were also done checking in. The woman with green eyes noticed her glance and stated, "They have also received a suite, but because of our other guests—they will be located on the other side of the estate."

She gave the woman a faint smile in response before she called out to Erza and Gray, "I guess we will see you guys tomorrow then. Have a good night!"

Erza nodded with a smile and stated, "You too, Mrs. Dreyar." Then the scarlet haired mage turned to her fake husband and stated, "Let's go, Darling."

Lucy watched as Gray's jaw clenched before he cast her a worried glance and a glare at Laxus, just as Erza wrapped her arms around his and they began to follow their hostess. She briefly wondered if she should do something similar with Laxus, but when she looked at the enormous man next to her, she quickly flaked out of the idea. She could easily pretend to be married to Gray—hell even Natsu. Then the thought of her pink haired friend made her heart sink once more.

She had no idea that she had zoned out when Laxus cleared his throat and gently asked, "Are you ready?"

"Oh yes, sorry," she quickly replied before she spun around to follow their hostess.

Just as she turned on point, she noticed Laxus's arms tense and he let out a low growl. Before them appeared a tall, slender man with long silver hair. He was absolutely gorgeous with flawless skin, high cheekbones, and hair that shone even better than Lucy's. If she was being honest with herself in that moment, she was insanely jealous of his lustrous locks.

Then her eyes began to take in the rest of him, he wore an elegant black and gray montsuki and Lucy heard herself audibly gulp when his onyx eyes went directly to her. She watched as his eyes briefly darted to Laxus before returning to her once more. He gave her a wolfish grin and asked the hostess, "Are these are new guests?"

The woman gave the man a deep bow and replied in a humbled tone, "Yes, Master Mitsu—this is Mr. and Mrs. Dreyar."

Lucy could feel the hairs on her arms rise up as he took a step towards her. His skin seemed to glisten off of the lights of the trees in the room before he stated in a smooth voice, "Welcome to my onsen, Mrs. Dreyar—it is a pleasure to meet you."

If the air from her lungs hadn't already left her, she would have responded to something along the lines of 'The pleasure is all mine.' But nope…she remained mute to the gorgeous man before her.

She was suddenly snapped back into reality when Laxus put his large hand around her waist before he cleared his throat and stated towards the beautiful man in tone that was audibly laced with a warning, "Mr. Mitsu was it?"

"It's actually Master Mitsu," the man replied with the same devilish grin.

"Yeah, I'm not calling you that," Laxus stated gruffly, "My wife and I have been travelling all day and would very much like to get to our rooms. Now, if you'll excuse us."

Master Mitsu didn't seem to take offense to Laxus's statement, instead his eyes darted back towards Lucy—who was feeling extremely uncomfortable at the moment, before he added in a softer tone, "Yes, I imagine you would." Then the Master of the onsen began to walk away after he ordered, "Aoi, please take our lovely guests to their suite."

"Of course, Master Mitsu," Aoi stated with another bow as the man disappeared.

Lucy finally let out the breath she had been holding in; however, she noticed that Laxus kept his arm around her waist as they began to follow the hostess, Aoi, towards their suite. She didn't mind very much that he left his hand there, because her head felt fuzzy as hell. If he hadn't been guiding her past a gorgeous courtyard, which barely registered in her mind, towards a secluded suite nestled far back from the rest of the resort, then she would probably remained standing where they had met the Master of the onsen.

She could barely hear Aoi and Laxus conversing before the woman disappeared in front of them. Laxus quickly opened the door to their suite and Lucy felt weak kneed and then her legs buckled out from under her; however, the Lightning Dragon Slayer was too quick and quickly scooped her up and carried her into their suite.

"L-Laxus," Lucy tried to speak but felt the words hard to form.

"Stay awake ok?!" Laxus commanded as he laid her down on a soft futon and stated, "I'm going to get some ice."

"W-why," Lucy whispered faintly.

"Because your body is in shock," Laxus called back from somewhere, but she was too weak to turn her head to see where he was or what was happening. However, she could still hear Laxus swearing about crazy ass demon powers.

She couldn't seem to focus on a damn thing but felt her head lift as cool water began to trickle into her mouth and an ice cold bag was placed on her head.

* * *

Mitsu stared into the fireplace in his living area and gripped the mantle above so hard that his claws had emerged and were splitting the wood. It had been a hundred years since he lost control like that in front of a mortal. He had to get ahold of himself, he couldn't outright attack a young human girl—a virgin human girl.

He swore at himself, because he knew that after tonight she would probably remain a virgin still, since he had accidently weakened her, and her husband was probably already attending to her if he had the slightest idea at all at what had happened. Mr. Dreyar was a brute, but smarter than he appeared. The large blonde man seemed to have an understanding at what was happening and if Mitsu would have turned into a full demon, the man seemed ready for fight.

He swore again as he tried to calm his raging nerves. He wanted nothing more than to hunt Mrs. Dreyar down and feast upon her beautiful body tonight. Oh the things he would do to her lustrous soft skin. He imagined raking his tongue over those enormous breasts that she was hiding under that infernal dress. He grinned at the fire as he thought about her brute of a husband watching them as Mitsu mated with her. He needed her naked and sprawled out on his bed.

He howled in anger in his room, because he knew that he couldn't do that. He had lived in peace at this onsen for over seventy years and he wasn't going to risk it for some beautiful, young girl.

His attention whipped back into focus when he heard a light knock at the door. "Come in," he barked out.

To his surprise Aoi entered his room. With her timid nature, he was surprised that she came to him, because she would know what kind of state he was in. She got on her knees near the door and humbly reported, "Master, Kaede's informed me that Mr. and Mrs. Gray are set up in their suite."

When he did not respond, she continued, "Mrs. Dreyar is safe in her room. Her husband seems to know how to counteract your effects. Mrs. Dreyar should be fine in the morning."

"Anything else?" he spat out.

The yōkai woman seemed to shrink before him. He was usually a nice Master, but today he was agitated. That beautiful blonde woman agitated him. The thought of her giving her virginity to that disgusting human made him want to vomit. However, he took a steadying breath because he had Rune Knights sniffing around this onsen for weeks because of the whole Demon raging war on humanity nonsense. He and his demon family had been established here for many, many years and would not risk the life they had over something so stupid as riding magic from the world. They had only learned about it from the guests who came to seek refuge here after the traumatizing events and the Rune Knights let it slip out, thanks to some of the women hostesses here and their seduction powers, which several demons fled before the war and were now lose upon Fiore. However, he and his kind have successfully blended in and their disguises were flawless. He wouldn't let a bunch of low-life demons ruin this for them. To many mortals, they appeared to be human—just like them. However, there was a low-life lurking around somewhere and he couldn't seem to catch him.

Finally Aoi spoke up and said, "Master, I was just worried about you because we don't know if these couples are here to catch the same demon that has been alluding us. I was worried with the amount of power you gave off."

Yes, that wretched creature attacking his guests was a very clever and disruptive demon. That monster was risking his livelihood and he would find him and end him. Finally he noticed that his breathing had returned to normal and he turned to see Aoi still kneeling before him. She was a wonderful demoness servant; however, his baser desires still craved Mrs. Dreyar.

He looked at Aoi and stated, "I understand your concern, but my actions will not be a hindrance. In fact, if Mrs. Dreyar enticed me to such a degree—I can't imagine what our elusive friend will want to do to her."

"You think he will reveal himself to her?" Aoi asked.

Mitsu thought about the question before he admitted, "We still have three days if he repeats his pattern of every seven nights. In the meantime, until Mrs. Dreyar loses her virginity and lessens the desire I have for her, I will require companionship so as not to lose control."

He watched as Aoi's body shuddered, which made him smirk. He walked closer to her and gently stroked the side of her cheek with his half deformed claw that was still trying to change back into his normal hand before he stated in a soothing tone, "But you knew that, didn't you, Aoi?"

"Yes, Master," Aoi breathily stated.

"Very well," Mitsu stepped back and took a seat in his high back chair that positioned in front of his fireplace, "Now make yourself useful; remove your clothes and come suck on my cock."

Aoi did as she was instructed as she removed her kimono to reveal her scaly green body. If he gave into human emotions, he might find Aoi very beautiful. However, she was just a lowly yōkai and he was a prince among demons.

As Aoi knelt before him, he leaned his head back, closed his eyes, and imagined that it was Mrs. Dreyar sucking on him.


	4. Chapter 4

Lucy slowly opened her eyes to find herself staring up into a dark room. She felt sluggish as she tried to move around on the futon that she now remembered that Laxus had sat her on earlier.

"You're awake," Laxus stated with what Lucy thought sounded like a relieved tone.

"Mmm," was all she could moan out as she sat up and tried to adjust to her surroundings.

"Take it easy, Lucy. You were under an enchantment that zapped all of your energy," Laxus yawned as he sat up on the futon that was across from her.

"Where are we?" Lucy asked as she tried to look around.

"In our suite," Laxus sighed as he stood up, "It's pretty nice but you really need to eat something."

Lucy didn't respond because her body didn't feel right. It was like she was still dreaming or something, but after she slightly pinched her arm, she knew that she was still awake. It wasn't long that Laxus came back and sat down some sushi, miso soup, and a small salad in front of her on the coffee table before her. She noticed that he had changed from earlier and he was wearing athletic shorts and a t-shirt. She had seen the man plenty of times in her life to know how gorgeous he was; however, seeing him so casual made her double look at him. He looked simply god-like.

If Laxus noticed her subtly checking him out, he didn't say anything when he added, "There was quite the feast set up for us when we first got here. Does any of this look good?"

"The soup does," Lucy replied as she tried to stretch her back.

"Let me go heat it up really fast," the Dragon Slayer added and disappeared again.

This was just weird. Having Laxus wait on her, her own team didn't even do that for her when things happened to her on missions. When he came back with her warmed up soup, she stated, "Thank you, Laxus. You really didn't have to do all of this."

He snorted and replied, "Well yeah, I kind of did."

She felt a slight pang in her chest because of his remark before she asked, "What do you mean and what the hell even happened?"

He turned on a lamp next to him before he took a seat back on his futon, across from her, and asked, "Do you remember the Master of this place—Mitsu?"

Lucy thought back on everything and then visibly shuddered when she remembered the handsome, silver haired man. Laxus harrumphed and stated, "Figured as much by that reaction. If you see him again and I'm not around, run like hell, ok?"

"Why? What is he? Why the hell would I pass out like that?" Lucy demanded to know before she took a sip of the warm miso soup.

"He is a demon, although I don't know what kind," Laxus replied in a grim voice, "Maybe Gray can find out more, but he was interested in you. Very interested."

Lucy arched her brow curiously a little before she asked, "And that is why I passed out? Like I got all fangirl-like or something?"

Laxus shook his head no before he answered, "After Tartaros, Freed told me that there are lots of different types of demons out there with different abilities. However, in most demon lore there is always a seduction technique when they find a mortal intriguing. That fuckwad must be interested in you, because he openly used his powers to entice you. You were almost like prey caught in a trap, unable to move or do anything really. If he would have asked you to jump off of a cliff then you probably would have done it—if you would have been around him longer."

Lucy's eyes were wide in shock and a little bit of fear. She had so many scenarios and questions running through her mind. Then out of instinct she reached for her keys that were still securely strapped to her thigh.

Laxus had been watching her the whole time to gauge her response before Lucy finally asked, "So these powers of his did not affect you at all?"

He almost found the question amusing before he replied, "No, but probably because I am not attracted to men."

Lucy had just reached the soup bowl back up to her mouth before a grin spread across her face and she added, "Yeah that makes sense. But how did you know I wasn't ok?"

"My Dragon senses could sense that your heartbeat and breath had changed. Plus, you don't seem like the type of girl that easily falls for a guy," Laxus admitted as he stretched back on the couch a little.

Lucy seemed caught off guard by Laxus's statement when she asked, "What on earth makes you think that?"

"I have my reasons," he replied in a tone that was clear that he wanted to change the subject.

The two sat in silence for a moment before Lucy asked, "Do you think he will try again? Or that he was the one hurting the other women"

"That I don't know," Laxus admitted, "But I will definitely be keeping a close eye on him. But now do you see why if I'm not with you, or if Gray isn't around either, why you should run? I don't know how powerful these seduction powers can be. We need to warn Erza of the same thing too."

Lucy nodded her head in agreement. At first she was going to feel offended that he didn't think she could handle him herself. After all, she was the one that sacrificed Aquarius's key to save all of them—not that any of them knew that except for Yukino. However, when he threw in Erza's name as well it made her feel better. Nobody thought Erza was weak, so she just took that as Laxus being cautious because they were women that the demon might want.

After she finished her soup, she reached for the sushi rolls too, because she was starting to feel better and her thoughts were a little clearer. Laxus was still waiting with her and she didn't know why and it was making her feel uncomfortable. Finally, to break the weird and awkward silence she asked, "So how did you break me out of the seduction enchantment?"

His grey eyes darted towards her, just as she plopped one of the sushi rolls into her mouth that had a lot of wasabi on it. She tried not to choke as her eyes watered and she swallowed the larger than normal roll down. After it passed her throat, she let out a cough and stated with a laugh in her voice, "Sorry about that. I guess I'm hungrier than I thought."

She didn't know what type of face that Laxus was making or even how to describe it. Was he shocked? Disgusted? Confused? But then he cleared his throat and replied, "Well I kind of had to shock your body back a little. Gave you a lot of cold water. Put cold rags on your head and arms. I was about to throw you into an ice-cold shower, but those little things started to make your breathing go back to normal so I knew you'd be ok."

Lucy just nodded her head and then chuckled at the thought of Laxus putting her in the shower. Most girls probably fantasized about the large, handsome man across from her and being in the shower with him. She just found it humorous that her version was ice cold instead of steamy.

* * *

After she finished her sushi roll, she decided to go for the salad too, before she asked, "So what is the plan for tomorrow?"

Laxus stood up and Lucy kept her eyes on him as he went over to a desk near a large window. Since she had spent the first few hours more or less passed out, she had not had the chance to really view the room that she was in. It was almost surreal. The futons that were in the room were a deep chocolate leather and all of the other furniture was made out of rustic wood that made it almost seem like she was in a treehouse. Behind her was a large kitchen area with stainless steel appliances and a bar. There was a door next to the kitchen that Lucy would have to explore later, but the window next to Laxus was breathtaking. Outside she could see fairy lights surrounding a warm onsen pool. Unlike other facilities, this one had no privacy fence and that made her worry that some perv could see her bathing. However, despite all of that, the night sky was filled with the thousands of stars that she saw earlier. She was going to love staying here.

Finally her attention went back to the Lightning Dragon Slayer who was giving her a curious look before she asked nervously, "What?"

He shrugged his shoulders before he walked back over to her and handed her a booklet and replied, "Our area of the resort is completely private, nobody will be able to see you out there."

"How did you know what I was thinking?" Lucy asked in shock.

"You just had that look on your face," Laxus chuckled before he added, "Here is the booklet that Aoi talked about earlier. It has lots of things to do in it. I think our first course of action would be to find Erza and Gray to figure out where they are staying and get them up to speed."

Lucy nodded in agreement as she turned the pages in the booklet. The resort had everything you could think of; swimming pool, a spa, golfing, horseback riding, tennis lessons, bowling, karaoke, a group onsen, a bar, cooking classes, and even groceries where you could pick out your own food to prepare. If the demon thing wasn't so creepy, then she'd probably consider just living here permanently.

After Lucy closed the book, she realized how tired she was. Even though she had already been sleeping because of the pervy Master of this place—she was still exhausted. She looked over at the clock and saw that it was nearly 3 a.m. She gave her arms a slight stretch before she asked Laxus, "What time should we get up tomorrow?"

Laxus thought about that for a moment before he answered, "Well Erza seems like the type that would want to meet up as soon as possible. What say we go to the main restaurant for breakfast at 8 a.m.?"

"Sounds good," Lucy replied as she stood up. She still felt a little weak as she looked over at Laxus who looked extremely uncomfortable. She wasn't really sure why, but she spoke up and said, "And Laxus, seriously—thank you for taking care of me the way that you did. You were very thoughtful and I'm glad that you are my Husband."

At the last comment, Lucy giggled and Laxus couldn't help but snort out a laugh as well. But then he replied in a sincere voice, "Anytime, Lucy."

She gave him a faint smile before she asked and looked around, "So where are our rooms?"

The awkwardness that she noticed moments ago on him was back when he looked away and stated, "Well, since this is a honeymoon suite there is only one room and one bed. I can sleep out here."

Lucy gave him an exasperated look as he pointed toward the dark room that was to the left of the kitchen. She gave out a tired sigh before she retorted, "Laxus, we are both adults and I'm sure that bed is ginormous and YOU are ginormous. I'm comfortable with sharing the same bed. You would not be comfortable out here—besides what if that creepy ass demon comes back in the night?"

The apparent shock on Laxus's face was obvious and Lucy played it off when she said, "I've had to share beds with Natsu and Gray before—this is no different. It's not like I'm going to jump your bones or anything."

"You've slept with both Natsu  _and_  Gray—and you're still a team?" Laxus asked confused.

"NOT LIKE THAT!" Lucy yelled back, "God they are both just friends. Nothing more, nothing less. It feels like it would be like incest if I slept with either of them in  _that_  way." She looked at Laxus who had wide eyes on her because of her mini-rant so she quickly harrumphed to end the conversation, "Not that it is any of your business, Mr. Dreyar."

She noticed a small smirk spread across his face when he replied, "It is my business, Mrs. Dreyar."

The way he slowly enunciated Mrs. Dreyar made her face turn redder than Erza's hair before she stammered out, "W-where is the bathroom then?"

Laxus stood up as he made his way to the master bedroom and called back to her, "It's attached to the bedroom in here. I went ahead and put both of your suitcases in here next to the dresser."

Before she made it to the bedroom, she heard Laxus flip a switch and then she gasped at all of the stringed lights from the trees that were over the bed. "Oh my god, that is beautiful!" Lucy cried out as she ran into the room.

The Master Bedroom was something she wanted to mimic in her own home someday. As she stood in the doorway, to her left were more large windows to reveal the outdoor onsen, a firepit, and a several lounges. However, the bed itself was wonderful. She was right and the bed was a little larger than a regular king sized bed; there was just no sense in acting like a child and sleeping in separate rooms. Besides for all she knew a demon might burst in here and she still wasn't feeling all that well.

However, despite her immediate worries, what made the room so unique were the four bedposts that were actually large trees that had stringed lights wrapped around the trunks and then in the branches. She loved that the leaves were a deep red maple. She could now look up and see fall anytime she wanted to. The bed itself was covered in a fluffy grey comforter with white and gray pillows to match. Each side had what appeared to be a tree stump nightstand with lamps. The dresser was against the opposite wall of the bed, closest to her and she noticed how it was made out of the same rustic wood and looked like a tree. Above it was a ridiculously large mirror with vines around it. If she were actually married, she would love the kinkiness of watching herself ride her partner.

"This. Is. So. Aaaaamaaazing." Lucy stated in an excited whisper to keep from screaming it.

Laxus shrugged his shoulders and stated, "I guess so."

"How can you not like it!?" she asked in shock, "It's like being outside but with the perks of not being outside?"

"What are the perks of not being outside?" Laxus asked with a groan as he took the left side of the bed.

"Bugs and perverts," Lucy replied as a matter of factly.

"Those are two very different ends of the spectrum," Laxus retorted as he tucked his masculine arms behind his head. But then he got a lecherous grin on his face and stated, "But there are perverts in here too."

"WHAT? I'M NOT A PERVERT!" Lucy defended herself because she noticed that Laxus used the plural form. Of course she would agree that he was—after all he was Master Makarov's grandson. But Laxus wasn't the bad kind of pervert that you had to worry about, like the Master of the onsen, he was just normal male pervert. It was two very different things in her mind.

The large man snorted and replied, "Bullshit you aren't. The quiet ones always are."

"Do you have any proof of this?" Lucy asked in defiance as she rummaged through her bag to get her necessities before she went to shower.

"Yeah, but you wouldn't like it," Laxus laughed out.

Lucy turned around with her toiletries and stated in a challenging tone, "Try me."

Laxus took a big inhale before he replied, "Ok, but first you have to understand that Dragon Slayers overhear things that we don't always want to—ok?"

She nodded her head in understanding. After being a partner with Natsu, and often times Wendy, she was quite aware of this fact. She watched Laxus as she crossed her arms before he continued, "One day you and Levy were in the guild talking about stories that you both write on-line."

 _Oh shit! Oh god no_ ….was all Lucy could think before Laxus added, "I may have heard some of what you guys were talking about—and your User Name on the account you use."

"Oh my god," Lucy growled out in a low voice, "Tell me you did not…"

"I did…" Laxus confessed, "And you, Lucy…You are a perv. Probably an even bigger one that Bickslow if we are being honest with each other."

"OH MY GOD! THAT WAS PRIVATE!" Lucy screamed in mortification. That secret was between her and Levy for them to unleash their creative energy and deepest desires, "WHY WOULD YOU READ MY STORIES?!"

"How is it private if you post it on-line?" Laxus asked in confusion.

"NOBODY KNOWS IT'S ME, EXCEPT FOR LEVY! OH GOD, WHY?!" Lucy cried out as she hid her face in the palm of her hands before she asked, "Please tell me you didn't tell anyone else?"

"I promise I didn't. Yours and Levy's secrets are safe with me—Celestial Seductress," Laxus barked out a laugh.

"Aaahhhh!" Lucy growled out in agitation and embarrassment as she ran to the bathroom to hide her shame. As she shut the door behind her and leaned her head against the door, she could hear the beast of a man lowly chuckling. He was absolutely infuriating. How dare he snoop on her like that—god and then him saying her username made her sound so silly. She was a fucking virgin—how was she supposed to know how things really felt. Celestial Seductress just sounded so good to her, but now all she felt was complete and utter humiliation.

"Uggggh…why," Lucy pathetically moaned out. Then when she heard Laxus laugh even harder, she stormed over to the shower to turn the water on so that he couldn't hear her wail in despair.

After she sat her toiletries and pajamas on the counter, she began to look around the bathroom. She was glad that Laxus said that nobody could see them and that they were secluded because the whole side of one wall was pure glass with no curtains. All she could see were trees and stars outside—no other lights. There was a large bath, clearly made for two under a smaller tree like the one in the bedroom and a clear glass shower that had real smoothed out stones. She would definitely have to write about this in her next fanfiction, because it was a perfect setting for two lovers who had a touch of exhibitionist in them, but still wanted their seclusion—and the added bonus of not getting arrested.

As she stripped down, her mind began to daydream as she sat her keys on the counter. She frowned when she saw them, because Aquarius's was not there. She gripped the sides of the countertop and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She looked tired. She had barely slept with the days prior to this trip. It had been over twelve hours since she last drank alcohol as she reached for her sleeping pills. She was afraid that even taking one now would make her too exhausted to be up again in four hours—so she was going to have to pass on any of them tonight. She didn't even want to risk cutting it in half. Then she let out a heavy sigh as she threw the pills back into her bag. She would just have to risk it tonight, but she hoped that because of all the excitement today that she would have a deep and restless sleep.

After the water had heated up to an appropriate degree, she gingerly tiptoed inside of the shower and let out a relieved sigh as the warm water hit her bare skin. The contrast of the smoothed stones felt as though she were actually bathing under a waterfall as the water cascaded down on her. To her delight there were special soaps and shampoos already placed in the shower and she reached for one body washes that had lavender and eucalyptus in it. She took a whiff of it and let out a faint moan, because it smelled so relaxing.

As she lathered herself up, her brows furrowed together in thought about the day she had just had. Laxus had shocked her to say the least with how attentive he was of her; however, she just shook it off as he would have been just as attentive to Erza had they had been paired up. But then she thought about how easy he was to talk to. She never would have guessed Laxus Dreyar to be a conversationalist or so witty. Plus, why in the hell did he read her fanfiction? Was he really interested in learning about her OC falling in love with both Sherlock and Dr. Watson and how she created the most epic love triangle of all time? Surely not…

But then she thought about his team—they were all…different. Freed was intelligent and sophisticated, Evergreen was haughty and sophisticated, Bickslow was…Bickslow. Did he converse with them the way he conversed with her? Surely he must to some degree, because otherwise why would they have so much loyalty to him? After all, they joined him in the Fantasia battle. Then a deep frown fell upon her face when she remembered the people who had been in the guild for a long time, the ones that watched Laxus grow up, and how they said he used to be very kind and loving. Then that all changed because of his Father getting kicked out. She snorted at her thoughts, because she knew a thing or two about having a shit dad. It probably really sucked for him—and still does.

Either way, she knew that Laxus was much different than the man she first met and very thankful that he saved her tonight. She felt safe in knowing that he was paired up with her on this mission.

* * *

As Laxus laid smirking on the bed, he chuckled to himself because he could hear Lucy's groans of embarrassment. He knew her personality well enough to know that she indeed would be embarrassed if she knew that he had secretly read her works. He tried to warn her, but he also enjoyed teasing her. After spending just a few hours alone with her, it was now easy for him to see why everyone loved her so much. She was easy to talk to—a little too easy to talk to. He'd have to watch himself in the future, because he didn't want to hurt her more than she was already suffering. Although, he wasn't entirely sure why she was suffering…or how.

When he heard her groan again, he couldn't help but bark out another laugh before he heard her turn the shower water on. Then his brows furrowed in thought as he stared up at the lights in the tree above him. While Lucy was still the same girl, there was something different about her ever since Tartaros—and since Natsu left. He noticed that she grabbed for her keys desperately at least three times since the trip began and it kept looking like her mind was going to a dark place. He just didn't know why. Because of his Dragon Slayer hearing, he had overheard a lot of people talking about the trauma they had experienced during Tartaros—but not Lucy's. He knew that she was pretty upset that Natsu and Happy left without her, but she also seemed to get over it pretty fast. But then he thought about her upbringing and how she was raised by a shitty dad, like him. One who was so desperate to get her back, just to basically sell her to some other man, that he attacked their guild. She probably had to learn at a young age to hide her feelings around someone like him. It was probably a lonely childhood and she probably felt lonely again after her best friend left without her.

_***Twinge*** _

Laxus gasped for air as he felt his body start to convulse in pain. He could faintly hear Lucy getting in the shower as he quickly ran outside and fell into the grass.

_***Pain.*** _

Pain seared through his veins as the anti-magic particles danced around in his body, making him so sick that he hurled in the grass like a cat.

After several minutes, his breathing went back to normal and the pain faded away. It had been several days since his last episode; however, he was shocked that he had an episode without really using his magic today. He hoped it wasn't because of that shitty demon. Either way, he let out a sigh as he looked at the ground before him. He knew he had to get this cleaned up before Lucy saw it in the morning.

As he ran inside to grab some water from the kitchen area, he felt his hands shaking from the episode. Nobody knew what he was struggling with, not even his team or his Gramps, and he wanted to keep it that way. Everyone saw him as an unbreakable strong figure, and he didn't want to let anyone down. The only person who had any suspicions was Porlyusica and he kept deflecting her questions every time she asked. One day he thought Wendy had suspected something, but she never asked him about it.

After he went back outside and washed the vomit away, he scowled because he knew that he had to stay on his game. That Mitsu guy would be coming for Lucy again, he was sure of it, and if he had an episode during one of Mitsu's advances—then he wasn't sure how he was going to be able to protect Lucy.

* * *

**Forgot to add that I'm going to be creative with Laxus's anti-magic particles too. :D Hehehehehehehe!**


	5. Chapter 5

Lucy groaned when Horologium's key woke her up. She shuffled around in the large bed before she let her body have an amazing stretch. She slowly blinked her eyes open before she realized that she was laying horizontally on the bed instead of vertically. She shot up and turned to see where Laxus was and then she let out a relieved sigh that he was no longer in the bed with her. After she had gotten out of the shower last night, the Dragon Slayer was already asleep, or at least she assumed he was, because his back was facing her. She barely noticed him in the night, but with her current position in the bed—there was no way she did not disturb him in some way. She was relieved that she didn't have any intense nightmares, but ever since she lost Aquarius she had not been able to sleep well. Tossing and turning in the bed was her newest exercise that burnt the most calories.

She groaned again when she saw that it was 7 a.m. and she needed to get up and get ready if she and Laxus were going to go try and meet up with Erza and Gray. As she hopped off of the gorgeous bed and headed for her suitcase, she decided that she wanted to unpack her things sometime later today. She had no idea what the weather was going to be like here. Magnolia was finally starting to get fall-like, but she was up on a mountain so it could be a lot colder than back home. However, all of the trees in the entry courtyard were all different types. Maybe the mountain was weather controlled by magic or something.

After she decided on some black tights, a short maroon skater skirt, and a cute 3/4 length floral top, she made her way to the bathroom with everything. She smiled when she saw the view of outside better. She walked up to the large glass and saw nothing but trees, blue skies, and mountains. It was absolutely breathtaking. Plush she was glad that Laxus was right, she couldn't see any other manmade facilities around. It was as though she and Laxus were the only ones here. Real couples would probably love this type of privacy. While she felt safe enough with Laxus, the thought of the Master of the onsen gave her the creeps. She wouldn't want to be this far away from everyone on her own.

When she turned around to look at the mirror, she blinked in surprise when she saw a note on the mirror from Laxus.

_Lucy,_

_Went on a run, be back soon._

_-Laxus_

She snorted because now she really was alone here, but the chances of Master Mitsu coming here personally in the morning was pretty slim. She eyed the note from Laxus and shook her head. If a maid came in here to clean and saw that note, they wouldn't think that they were newlyweds at all. Where were the cute nicknames for each other or the I love you? She sighed to herself as she began to brush her teeth. There had to be some sort of balance with this. She didn't want to pressure Laxus like Erza was with poor Gray—but every time she and Laxus were around people he seemed to close back off—except for when he put his arm around her to protect her from Mitsu. Her face blushed and she quickly spit out her toothpaste. Maybe that was a onetime thing? She was smart enough to know that not every couple was openly affectionate; however, sometimes that meant that they couldn't keep their hands off of each other when they got behind closed doors. She and Laxus didn't need to be overtly affectionate; however, they needed to do something to sell the happy newlywed scheme.

After she had finished brushing her teeth and turned the sink water off, she heard the front door open and close. She cursed herself because she realized that she had left her keys on the nightstand, but then her fear quickly vanished when she saw Laxus come around the corner, shirtless and glistening with sweat.

Their eyes locked and she couldn't help but gulp at his muscular physique. His body was the stuff that plastered smut stories that were sold in in stores—ripped torso, masculine pecs, strong arms, and a face that would make most girls need to change their panties regularly. She could have a worse fake husband, so at least the one she got was a delicious piece of eye candy.

As Laxus removed his ear buds, he gave her a smirk and stated in his deep voice, hinted with just a little bit of teasing, "Cute pj's."

She narrowed her eyes at him as he disappeared into their room, no doubt to grab some clothes. She hadn't changed into her regular clothes yet and instead she was wearing a very short pair of green shorts with a tight white t-shirt with a green T-Rex and stars on it that read 'Reach for the Stars…oh.' She had thought that the outfit was adorable, because she loved dinosaurs—and star. Plus the little T-Rex's arms were too short to really reach the stars.

She called out to him as she dabbed on some light foundation for the day, "I'll have you know that I think I look adorable."

The large man appeared in the door frame with a grin and admitted, "I never said you didn't look adorable."

"Hmmphhh," Lucy harrumphed at him as he sat his toiletry bag down next to her. Then she pointed to the note that he had left for her and she added in a more serious manner in a means to change the subject away from her wardrobe—and the fact that he was basically calling her cute and flustering the hell out of her, "Laxus, please don't think I'm trying to be like Erza, but we need to come up with some sort of mutual agreement on level of affection shown. A maid or someone might see this."

The man studied the note before he asked, "What was wrong with my note?"

Lucy scoffed as she grabbed her mascara brush, "Uh maybe because newlyweds don't sound so to the point."

The Dragon Slayer began to brush his teeth as he thought about what Lucy was trying to say. With his toothbrush still in his mouth he asked, "So you want me to be more affectionate?"

She shrugged her shoulders because this was unknown territory for her as well before she replied honestly, "I just think we should show some level of affection so that people don't question us. Like that creeper, Mitsu—he seems like the type of perv that would pick up on our distance right away."

Laxus scowled into the mirror at the thought of Mitsu before he admitted, "I'm not an overly affectionate guy though, Lucy."

She noticed the change in Laxus and the apparent scowl on his face before she tried to clarify, "I'm sorry, Laxus. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with you and it's ok that you are not overly affectionate. I'm not asking you to change who you are, but maybe we can do small things in public like have nicknames for each other or something? Like I could call you, Honey."

"Honey?" Laxus asked in shock before he turned around to turn the shower water on.

She sighed in exasperation before she added with a light laugh, "That was just an example. It doesn't have to be Honey, it can be other things like Sweetie or Thunder Head in your instance."

She couldn't help but feel a little nervous when he got a shit eating grin on his face and admitted, "Ok, I think I can do that."

Lucy wasn't sure what she had just agreed to, but nodded her head as she put her make-up back in her bag. Then a deep coat of blush covered her face when Laxus asked, "So, are you going to stay in here while I shower?"

Her mouth fell open in shock when Laxus moved his hands around the elastic band of his running shorts. The man knew what effect he had on women and she quickly turned around before her flustered self managed to spit out, "N-no! Baka!"

She could hear him chuckle lowly as she grabbed her things and closed the bathroom door. She sighed to herself when she heard the shower door close and shook her head and whispered, "This is going to be a long two weeks."

* * *

After the fake couple finished getting ready, they began to make their way out of their suite. They each grabbed a room key and when Laxus locked their door behind them. Lucy took a deep breath in of the fresh mountain air and said, "It really is lovely here—well minus this random demon threat."

Laxus nodded his head in agreement before he admitted, "The run I went on was really nice."

"Do you run every morning?" Lucy asked because she figured she should get to know the man that she would be calling her husband for the next few weeks—for research purposes of course.

"Only five days a week, plush weight lifting and boxing," Laxus admitted as they began to head towards the main restaurant.

"Boxing?" Lucy asked in surprise.

"It's therapeutic," Laxus stated as the two walked side by side.

"Hitting things is therapeutic?" Lucy asked with an arch to her brow.

"Don't knock it until you try it," Laxus teased.

Then before she even realized what she said, she blurted out, "I guess you will have to show me sometime, Husband."

Her eyes widened at the statement and she noticed that Laxus had even lost the pace he was making for a half a second. She had no idea what kind of look he had in his eyes, but it made her insides do summersaults and she knew that her face was redder than a tomato. She watched as he took a big inhale and kept walking. She mentally smacked herself upside the head as the two walked in silence the rest of the way.

* * *

When the two got to the restaurant, Lucy began to look around warily because she really didn't want to run into Mitsu this early in the morning. Then she and Laxus approached the host of the restaurant, the man was just as gorgeous as Mitsu and the two women, and in an odd way—he resembled Freed. He had long green hair, deep blue eyes, but was built as big as Laxus. She supposed if Laxus and Freed could have a child together then it would look like the man before her.

The man greeted them with a warm smile and said, "Good morning, how can I help you?"

Then to Lucy's surprise she heard Erza call out, "Lucy, Laxus! Over here!"

The green haired host smiled and stated, "Ah, you are the other two in the party. Please follow me."

As Laxus and Lucy followed the man to Erza's and Gray's table, Lucy tried to take in more of her surroundings since she was a little out of it last night. Every building and room in this place was immaculate and the main restaurant was nothing but solid glass on all wall sides so that there was a better view of the trees and the mountain; however, there appeared to be private dining rooms randomly placed throughout the room with dark grey stone walls. Then the main attraction was the large bar in the center of the room with stringed lights hanging down from the ceiling. She smiled because she knew that Cana would definitely love that.

"Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Dreyar," Erza stated with a smile as the couple approached. However, Gray rolled his eyes at the comment.

"Morning, Mr. and Mrs. Fullbuster," Lucy replied with a large grin as she took a seat next to the red haired woman, because she was going to play along with Erza today.

The host then handed Lucy and Laxus two menus and stated, "I will give you a few minutes—would you care for a drink?"

"A water and a black coffee for me," Laxus stated.

"Hmmmmm, Lucy looked at the table and saw that Erza was drinking a pink drink in a flute glass with a strawberry on top. She nodded towards Erza's drink and asked, "What's that?"

"A strawberry mimosa, it's quite delicious," Erza stated with a smile.

Lucy's eyes went over to Gray and he was drinking water with extra ice, so the blonde decided to have some fun and stated, "I would like a strawberry mimosa as well."

"Excellent choice," the mean stated before he disappeared from their table.

After the man walked away, Erza confided, "Gray and I thought it would look too suspicious if neither of us drank alcohol on this mission so we decided to take turns under the condition that we don't get drunk."

Lucy thought about what was said and she supposed it made sense. Lots of people drank on their honeymoons and if Lucy and Laxus both only drank water all of the time, then that might appear abnormal. She looked over at Laxus who didn't seem to mind that she ordered a drink at all, but she supposed that they would need to talk about it later.

It wasn't long until a different waiter brought out their drinks and began to take their order. Gray ordered a cheesy omelet with hash browns, sausage, bacon, and toast; Erza ordered strawberry pancakes with extra whipped cream; Laxus ordered almost exactly what Gray ordered but instead of a cheesy omelet, he ordered two omelets—one was solid vegetable and the other one was an all meat. Finally Lucy ordered two over easy eggs with avocado toast and a bowl of oatmeal topped with fresh fruit.

The moment that the waiter was far enough away, Lucy looked at Gray and asked, "Gray, are you ok? That is a lot more food than you usually order."

He looked around before he answered, "Ever since I inherited my father's abilities—my appetite has grown…a lot."

"He's like the other Slayers now," Erza stated with a smile.

Lucy nodded her head in understanding before she asked Gray, "Do you crave mostly ice?"

Gray nodded his head and admitted, "Anything cold really—but ice is the best."

Then Laxus changed the subject while they were all alone and no wait staff could hear them, "We need to talk about what happened last night."

Lucy saw the look of confusion on Erza's and Gray's faces before Laxus continued, "After we all parted ways, Lucy and I ran into the owner of this place."

"Demon?" Gray asked in a stern voice.

When Laxus nodded, Gray scoffed and revealed, "Every single person working here is a demon, but they all seem to be different types. I haven't seen any that are Tartaros level yet—most remind me of Galuna Island."

Erza contemplated what Gray told them before she asked Laxus and Lucy, "But what about the owner?"

Lucy took a deep breath, but allowed Laxus to do the talking since he remembered more and the large Dragon Slayer revealed, "Well he was very interested in Lucy and openly used his powers of seduction on her?"

"What?!" Gray asked a little too loudly.

Laxus shook his head for them to all halt the conversation immediately, it wasn't but a few seconds later when the server asked if they could use a refill of anything. They all shook their heads no at the time and when he was far enough away, Gray turned to Lucy and asked, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Laxus was there and I wasn't in any danger thanks to him," Lucy admitted before she took a drink of her strawberry mimosa.

Gray didn't look convinced when he sighed out, "Lucy we leave you alone for a matter of minutes and you find yourself in trouble all ready."

Lucy felt a pang in her chest and scowled at the man across from her. He had no fucking clue how it was her that saved all of their asses; however, Laxus quickly intervened and more or less growled out, "It wasn't her fault."

Gray turned his gaze upon Laxus because he sensed the threatening tone in his voice; however, Erza finished off her first mimosa and stated, "I don't think Gray was intentionally intending to presume that it was Lucy's fault."

"No I wasn't," Gray sided with his make believe wife, "Lucy just has a knack for getting into trouble."

Something inside Lucy about snapped, but before she could it was Laxus that once again spoke up and stated, "No matter how it was intended, it wasn't her fault and maybe a lot of weird shit happens to her because her magic is so different than everyone else's. Now are you two ready to hear the rest of the story or do you want to continue this pointless accusation against your teammate?"

Lucy sat there dumbfounded, much like Gray. However, Erza narrowed her eyes at the other S-Class mage and stated, "I would never hurt Lucy—but proceed with your conversation."

To say that the next few minutes was awkward was putting it mildly, but Gray and Erza listened to Laxus and the chain of events that took place last night. Then Laxus finished with, "I don't know if he is the guy we are after or not; however, I don't think Erza or Lucy should walk around without an escort."

"Hey," both women spoke up.

Gray leaned back and crossed his arms before he admitted, "I don't like it, but I agree with Laxus. We don't know enough about this Mitsu prick to know what his intentions are and I don't really want to find either of you with blood sucked out of you."

"We don't know if he is the blood sucker or not," Erza pointed out.

"No, but we don't have enough information," Gray countered, "Until we know more than unfortunately we have to stick with our significant others."

"What's unfortunate about that?" Erza asked—her pride of being a new "wife" hurt a little.

Gray sighed out before he finally blurted out, "You are so intense—look at how chill Lucy is next to her  _husband_?"

The blonde had just finished off the last of her mimosa and choked on it a little at Gray's statement. She could tell that Erza was hurt by Gray's cold nature so she quickly stated, "It's not all fun and games with me and Laxus."

The red haired woman tore her glare away from Gray before she looked sympathetically at Lucy and asked, "How so?"

Then before Lucy could come up with something, Laxus took the initiative and stated, "She's wild in the bedroom."

Erza's and Lucy's faces both heated up and Gray nearly dropped his glass of ice. The Requip Mage then stammered out, "W-what d-do you mean?"

"I mean she's a bed hog," Laxus stated nonchalantly with a shrug to his shoulders, "I woke up in the night and her foot was on my face."

At the comment, Erza began to chuckle and Lucy smiled at Laxus as a way to thank him from helping her and her friends out. He was opening up just a little this morning and she knew that later she would want to ask him what he meant by her magic. She had no idea that he even really gave her much thought before today. He was quite interesting.

Then Lucy blinked in surprise when she saw he breath form in front of her in the air. The other three turned to look at Gray who was now radiating a dark aura. He looked at Lucy with eyes that made her blood run cold and asked, "You slept in the same bed together?"

Lucy knew that the situation needed to deescalate fast before any of the demons came back, then Erza slapped Gray's back and asked, "Why are you so worked up? Who cares if they shared the same bed? We did!"

Laxus's brows rose at the admittance and Lucy looked at Gray in confusion for his weird behavior, before she added, "Gray, I'm not a child, so stop treating me like one. Two grown, mature adults can share a bed without having sex."

Erza turned to look at her friend, but then before anyone could say anything else, Laxus spoke up and said, "The waiter is coming back."

The four sat in awkward silence as the waiter came up and began to hand them all of the dishes they ordered. Lucy decided she needed another drink, and so did Erza, before the waiter disappeared.

As the four began to dig into their meal, Lucy asked, "So what is the game plan for today?"

Gray seemed checked out, but Erza stated, "Well we found out last night from the hostess that escorted us to our suite that tomorrow night there is a Maple Festival. Apparently there will be music, plays, drinks, and food on blankets underneath the fall tree section of the resort. It is supposed to be quite lovely."

"That sounds great!" Lucy exclaimed right before the waiter came back up to drop off their drinks and refill the men's beverages.

Erza nodded her head in agreement before she pulled out several brochures and stated, "I thought today that Gray and I would do this couple's baking class and then go horseback riding."

"We are on a mission, not a fucking vacation," Gray sighed out after he finished his omelet.

Lucy and Erza both scowled at the Ice Mage before Lucy defended her friend, "We have to blend in Gray or this mission won't work and actually it's probably best if we all don't meet up again until tomorrow night at the festival."

Gray looked shocked then Erza stated in agreement, "Lucy's right. We have to sell that we are all newlyweds and newlyweds often want to do things alone at first. If we spend too much time together then we will be too obvious."

"But…" Gray tried to comment.

However, Lucy quickly turned to Laxus and asked, "What do you think?"

Laxsus's stormy gaze met hers before he nodded and admitted, "It makes sense."

Gray snorted in disgust and stated, "Of course you would say that."

Maybe it was the second mimosa, Lucy now remembered why she usually didn't drink mimosas—champagne made her emotional, before she blurted out, "Gray, what the hell is your problem?"

"My problem is, you haven't even been with Laxus for a day and you are already choosing his side and completing forgetting about Natsu," Gray growled out in a low voice so that the wait staff would not hear, "I knew other girls were stupid enough to fall for him, but I thought you were smarter than that, Lucy."

"Gray," Erza said in a voice that normally scared the shit out of everyone.

However, Lucy already felt the tears starting to come and wanted to get out of there. She couldn't look at Laxus or Erza when she said, "I need to go."

She stood up so fast that the chair squeaked oddly across the floor under her before she let her feet carry her away. She vaguely remembered the host thanking her for coming to eat with them as she took off into a garden.

Laxus stood up after her and quickly asked Erza, "Where is your guys' room?"

"The northern most part where there is still snow and pines," Erza stated sadly.

"We are in the opposite direction; lots of green grass, flowers, ferns—if you need us," then the Dragon Slayer left his guild mates to find his partner for the next two weeks. He couldn't blame her for how she had reacted, but right now he was more concerned about Mitsu finding her alone.

After their guildmates had disappeared, Erza felt crushed. Everything about Fairy Tail was so different now, because of Tartaros—she was different now. She hadn't heard from Jellal since he showed up when she was crying and she wasn't sure she ever wanted to see him again anyways. He always brought up old emotions that she wanted to leave buried.

The powerful woman took a swig of her mimosa before she turned to Gray who looked torn between being distraught and angry when she asked, "Care to explain what that was about?"

"Not really," Gray sighed out in agitation.

"Well we aren't leaving until you do," Erza replied firmly.

"You aren't my boss," Gray groaned as he leaned back in his chair.

"No, just your wife," Erza stated bluntly with an arch to her brow.

The two stared daggers at each other because she knew Gray wasn't stupid enough to fuck with her, especially not when she silently equipped an actual dagger under the table and grazed it against his leg.

Finally Gray swore at her and admitted, "It's Natsu ok. He left me a note."

Erza blinked in surprise and asked, "What kind of note?"

Gray looked out at the trees that surrounded the restaurant and admitted, "One that asked if I would watch over Lucy because he was worried about her."

Erza contemplated what Gray said before she asked, "So that gives you some right then to treat Lucy and Laxus that way? They are just being nice to each other because it is an odd job. Also, you know how easy it is for Lucy to make friends and she doesn't hold grudges against people. Besides, Laxus watched out for her last night and then once again just now."

"What do you mean just now?" Gray asked in confusion.

"Laxus said that Lucy and I shouldn't go off alone because of the owner of this place and then you acted like an ass and chased Lucy off—Laxus went after her," Erza stated before she took the strawberry that was left in Lucy's oatmeal before she continued, "Besides you didn't answer my first question."

"What gives me the right?" Gray asked in clarification.

When Erza nodded in silence, Gray sighed again and admitted, "I guess it doesn't."

"So why act like that?" Erza pried.

"Because Natsu…" Gray said lowly.

"Natsu would be fine with Laxus and Lucy being paired up," Erza replied as she wiped her mouth with her napkin.

"No he wouldn't," Gray admitted.

Erza looked at Gray in confusion then silently gave him a look like _'I need more information if you want my help.'_  Gray leaned forward and took his glass in his hand before he admitted, "Natsu admitted he was in love with Lucy but he wasn't strong enough to keep her safe—it's why he went alone."

Erza sat there in stunned silence before she regained composure and asked, "Gray, are you Lucy's friend too?"

"Yeaaaah," Gray answered slowly because he wasn't sure where this was going.

"Then act like it," Erza demanded, "Lucy is a big girl who can make her own decisions."

"But Natsu," Gray argued.

"But nothing," Erza ended the argument before it even began, "Did Natsu express these feelings of love to Lucy?"

"I don't know," Gray admitted.

"Even if he did, it is none of our business. What Lucy chooses to do and who she considers a friend is not our concern as long as she is not intentionally hurting anyone or herself," Erza stated firmly, "Even if Natsu did confess his feelings to her before she left, she still has a right to reject those feelings. She doesn't not have to be with him just because most people think that they would make a good couple. We all love Natsu, Gray—but he is not without his flaws, just like all of us. Besides, what you did was inappropriate—Lucy and Laxus did nothing to warrant that type of response."

Gray sighed heavily as he looked up at the ceiling, "You're right."

"And you will apologize," Erza commanded as she pressed the dagger against his leg once more.

"Jesus, fine Mom," Gray groaned in agitation.

"Correction," Erza glared, "Wife."

* * *

Lucy's chest heaved from pain. How dare Gray bring up Natsu like that as though she was betraying him? Natsu was the one that abandoned her, not the other way around. What was she supposed to do? Sit at home and wait for him to return? Not get stronger because he was out there doing god knows what? No! She wasn't having any of that—she was going to get stronger on her own. She would show Natsu when he got back how much he hurt her. Gods! She was just so mad. She saved them and sacrificed a key to do so. How dare he act like she was a fucking child!

As she stood at the base of a large oak tree, fuming in anger, she heard a sound behind her. She quickly grabbed her keys and spun around to see Laxus standing there. "Oh…Laxus…" Lucy stated breathily because she was trying to keep from bawling hysterically at Gray's actions.

She tried to wipe away the tears that were starting to fall when Laxus asked—clearly uncomfortable, "You ok?"

She just nodded her head and answered, "I'll be fine."

He just nodded his head and stood there. The silence in the air was awkward so she quickly added, "I'm sorry—I didn't mean for you to come after me."

"It's no problem, besides I don't want that creep to find you," Laxus admitted.

Lucy felt a slight pang in her chest because she realized she probably stole him away from his food. But before she could thank him, he asked her, "So what do you feel like doing today? I think Erza had the right idea and that we should try some of the things here to blend in. We also might learn more about this Mitsu guy or the other demons here if we see what it is they have to offer."

She supposed he was right and any distraction from her own mind right now would be wonderful. She quickly thought back on the brochure she had read earlier and asked, "What if we both pick something to do today?"

"I'm cool with that," Laxus stated with a shrug before he added, "They have a fitness center that I would like to try."

Lucy immediately regretted her decision but she was the one that had gotten herself into this mess, so she knew she would have to counteract Laxus's intense workout time with something relaxing. She looked at him and asked, "What if we did the pool after that and just relaxed? Also, maybe we could spend some time today unpacking our things or picking up a few groceries at their little store if we don't want to eat out for every meal?"

"Sounds like a plan," Laxus smiled as Lucy walked up to him and together they began to head back to their suite so that they could change and head to the fitness center.

* * *

As they walked back towards their suite, Lucy couldn't help but still feel hurt by Gray's actions. She wasn't entirely sure why he was acting that way—normally he was the easiest one to talk to on her team. However, today he was different and he clearly didn't like that she and Laxus were getting along.

But then she began to study the man next to her; he was powerful, fierce, aloof, sexy, and everyone in the guild held him in such high respect now since he came to save them on Tenrou and everything he did during the games—plus him saving more or less an entire town by inhaling all of those anti-magic particles. He was a mystery to her—but she liked mysteries.

Finally she took a deep breath and stated, "Laxus, thank you for coming for me this morning. I'm not making this marriage easy on you so far."

He shrugged his shoulders and replied, "It's really no big deal." Then she gulped when he stopped walking and looked at her and said, "I'd do anything for my Celestial Seductress."

She let out a loud groan that only made the man laugh as he returned to his walking pace. She should have known that she was going to regret asking him to come up with cute nicknames.

* * *

 

**Lucy's pajama shirt was inspired by one off of ModCloth if you want to look it up for a reference. They were too cute! Just go the search category on their site and type in 'Dinosaurs.'**


	6. Chapter 6

After Lucy had changed into some rose colored yoga capris with a tight white tank top, she put her keys into a little bag and tied her hair up into a pony tail. She let out a low sigh, because she was looking forward to a luxurious semi-job/vacation. Working out wasn't really her ideal way to spend time. However, she had to sell the newlywed bliss and as the cute tank top she saw in a little boutique last week in Magnolia read,  _'Couples who sweat together, Stay together.'_

However, she hadn't packed anything so athletic so Virgo came to her aid with everything that she could need—even with the most adorable rose and gold colored running shoes. She might not like the idea of working out with one of the strongest mages in the guild, but she was for damn certain that she looked utterly adorable.

Before she went out to meet Laxus in the living room, she had put the clothing she did have away in the drawers or hung them up in the closet next to Laxus's clothes. However, she had carefully tucked Aquarius's key and Natsu letter away in the drawer where she kept her panties and socks. She knew that it was hopefully the one drawer that Laxus would not accidently open. As she ran her fingers over the coarse note and the broken key, she felt her eyes well up with tears. She felt so fucking alone that it ached in her chest. She wished that she could talk to someone about how she was feeling, but the one person she wanted to tell about Aquarius had left without her. While Yukino knew, Yukino was too damn sweet to really hear how Lucy was feeling about how much she wanted to punch Natsu in the face after she kicked him in the balls. She wasn't sure she knew how to express just how deeply she was hurt. She just knew that she was mad as hell.

After she regained her composure and wiped her tears away, she finally went out to meet her fake husband in the living room. She saw that the large man was sitting on the couch waiting for her but he was reading over the pamphlet again. Before she said she was ready, she went over to the refrigerator to get one of the complimentary bottles of water and asked, "Hey Laxus, do you want a water?"

"Sure," the man replied, but it was obvious that he was still engrossed in the pamphlet.

She actually grabbed four waters and put two of them in her bag for later for both her and Laxus, with her keys, before she went to hand Laxus the water she got for him before she stated, "You look pretty deep in thought there."

"Sorry, I was just thinking," Laxus replied in a low voice.

Lucy arched her brow before she stated with a grin, "Don't ever apologize for thinking, you big Ol' Lightning Rod."

The hunky Dragon Slayer looked up at her to see her smiling face and gently smiled back before she took a seat opposite of him and asked, "Is it something about the mission?"

He nodded his head before he admitted, "Erza and Gray said that there is going to be a festival tomorrow night—I just think that we should be prepared for Mitsu to be there."

Lucy took a deep breath as she leaned back on the couch and agreed, "You're probably right, but how are we going to do that? I mean—I didn't even know what the hell was happening."

Laxus thought about it for a moment before he added, "I'm not sure. I guess we have time to come up with a plan, but I just think we both need to be thinking about how to keep you away from him if he tries to do something again and we have to consider the fact that this other possible demon that we came here to find might find a festival pretty tempting."

"How so?" Lucy asked as she took a swig of her water.

"Sometimes attackers like hunting in large crowds, the more people—the less people can hear," Laxus replied grimly.

Lucy shuddered the thought of how creepy some people actually are before her thoughts changed towards her fake husband and how he could save the day. "Except you," Lucy stated with a smile, "You could hear people over a crowd. Then we could save the girl and kick whoever's ass."

Laxus smiled faintly and nodded his head. He dared not say that he felt like all of his attention would be on his blonde wife and keeping her safe. She hadn't been acting like the normal Happy Go Lucky Lucy lately. He didn't know if it was just because Natsu left or if it was something more.

Finally he asked, "So, are you ready to go work out?"

"Boy am I…" Lucy groaned in a sarcastic tone.

To that response Laxus grinned as they both stood up off of their respective couches before he teased, "I'll let you be my spotter."

As they left their suite together, and Laxus locked the door behind them, Lucy asked, "And you trust me to be your spotter? You look like you could bench press me in half."

The man barked out a laugh that made Lucy smile widely. She liked hearing his laugh. He didn't do it much in the guild. He was always so reserved in a large group of people. The man truly had an incredible smile and she could see why so many women could fall for him based off of his looks alone.

Then he replied back with a slight shove, "Of course I trust you to be my spotter."

"Yeah, yeah," Lucy waved him off because she wasn't quite sure. She was stronger mentally than physically; however, she supposed that helping Laxus train could also make her stronger too. She supposed she could always ask him to train her but that might seem too weird. Why would he even want to?

* * *

After they reached the fitness center, they walked in to see a man and a woman standing behind the counter. Lucy found the pair to be quite intriguing. The woman had dark black hair with one violet colored eye and one silver one and the man had the exact same hair and eye color except the eye colors were reversed. Her violet eye was in her right eye, and his was his left. She assumed that they were demons by how Laxus's defenses immediately rose.

The two behind the counter smiled at them and asked, "Mr. and Mrs. Dreyar?"

Before Lucy could ask how they knew their names, Laxus stated, "Yes, I made the reservation earlier this morning."

Lucy looked over at the man and gave him a look  _'Earlier this morning?'_  How did he even know that she would come with him?

Then the man stated, "We have your private training room already prepared. Here is your key and there are private showers for couples, so no one can bother you. Should you need assistance, please ring the bell and we will come assist you."

"Private showers?" Lucy murmured as she followed Laxus down a long hall. What kind of weird gym was this? Was it really just a den to have sex in after couples worked out together or something?

They finally reached the outside of their private workout room, and when Laxus unlocked the door for them, Lucy's eyes widened in amazement at the size of it. There were large windows similar to the ones in the restaurant and Lucy could practically see most of their resort, minus all of the suites that the couples stayed in because they were so high up. The views were amazing, all of the different trees and she could finally see the waterfall that she heard last night when they arrived. In the distance she saw a mother deer with her two fawns. This place was so peaceful that it was almost seductive.

The workout room itself contained an Olympic sized swimming pool, several weights, a rope that hung down from the ceiling and a place for yoga. She really liked it. Then she asked, "Is every room like this?"

"No, I got us the suite," Laxus admitted.

"Oh yeah, by the way, Mr. Dreyar," Lucy said as she crossed her arms, "What do you mean you made a reservation for us earlier this morning."

Laxus grinned and admitted, "I made it while I was on my run."

Lucy's mouth fell open in shock before she asked, "And when were you going to tell me about this?"

He kept that same smug grin on his face before he teased, "A few minutes ago when we checked in." He felt very amused with himself at her look of annoyance before he asked, "Is this technically our first fight as a couple?"

She snorted at the question before she went over to sit her bag down and replied in a threatening, "Believe me, Laxus…you will know when we are having our first fight."

The Dragon Slayer felt chills run down his spine. Goddamn this woman could be as scary as Erza or Mira if she wanted to. Her back was currently to him and he watched as she was straitening her stuff. His eyes couldn't help but linger over how good her ass looked in those yoga pants and it took everything he had to not fantasize about pulling those down and bending her over so he could rub his hands down her rounded backside and eat her out from behind. God she probably looked so good when she orgasmed.

Then to distract his own mind, and in an attempt to soothe her over, he stated, "Actually I got this room because nobody will interrupt us and we can practice our magic if we need to. This was the only room with a pool and I booked it solid at this time every day for the next two weeks, just in case you want to practice with Aquarius or something. Not that you have to or anything…"

But then Laxus stopped talking when he saw the blonde tense up incredibly. He could hear her heart pounding loudly as she clutched onto her bag. Her back was still too him and he had no idea what he had said to make her react in this way, but he honestly didn't know whether to say sorry or what. She seemed catatonic before him.

It was a few moments later that Lucy turned around with a fake smile plastered on her face, how she did that when she was clearly in pain was beyond him, when she asked, "So what do you want to do first?"

"Uhhhhhh," was all Laxus could respond with at first before he added, "Bench press."

Lucy nodded at him and stated in a firm voice, that clearly showed she had been hanging out with Erza too much, "Let's go."

The large Dragon Slayer never liked being told what to do or when to do it; however, he nodded his head in obedience and laid down on the bench only to see the blonde's massive tits straight above his head in that skin tight white tank top she had on. He internally growled in his mind as he grabbed the bar above him and thought how this was going to be a long morning.

* * *

After their workout, Laxus let Lucy use their private shower first. She was still trying to wrap her mind abound the fact that she had literally just been Laxus's spotter for over two hours; however, the hollow feeling in her heart and stomach had returned the moment that Laxus used Aquarius's name and it never fully went away. She knew that Laxus wasn't as much as a meat head as he could first appear, just like how she wasn't just a dumb, bubbly blonde. She knew that he knew something was up. However, she also knew that he had no idea at what was really eating her away. In that fact, she was all alone.

As she turned the shower water on, extra hot, she couldn't help it when tears began to run down her eyes. She didn't want Laxus to hear and then she noticed something on the wall. She felt like a zombie when she walked over to a lacrima screen that was embedded in the wall of the shower. When she clicked it so that I would turn on, she snorted because she realized it was a music device and the first song that came up was  _Pony_  by Genuine. God she hoped that the people who worked here cleaned these showers down good.

However, she wasn't in the mood for a sex song and instead thumbed through the playlist as the water got hotter and hotter until she found a song that met her mood. She selected it and stepped under the scolding shower that in the past would have been too hot for her. However, no physical pain seemed to really affect her anymore. How could it? Especially when all of her real demons were in her mind.

She closed her eyes and let the music envelope her soul and hoped that Laxus wouldn't be able to hear her cry over it…

 _Summer has come and passed_  
The innocent can never last  
Wake me up when September ends

 _Like my fathers come to pass_  
Seven years has gone so fast  
Wake me up when September ends

* * *

Laxus sat near the pool with his feet in the water as he thought about the past couple of hours. Lucy had suddenly changed her persona really fast after he brought up training with her spirits. Did he insult her by suggesting that she might want to train? He hoped not, because that wasn't his intention. It was just something he and his team did no matter where they travelled. Training was just a habit of his.

However, he couldn't help but notice that she was no longer in a joking mood the rest of the time. Instead she was quiet and reserved. Her demeanor made it easy for him not to be distracted by how hot she looked in her workout outfit and how he could see beads of sweet glisten off of her body—especially the one that fell down between her two perfect mounds.

Then he heard music start to play from the shower room. He blinked in surprise and then the song caught him off guard. It wasn't one he would normally associate with Lucy…yet something about it really pulled at his heart.

 _Like my fathers come to pass_  
Seven years has gone so fast  
Wake me up when September ends

 _Here comes the rain again_  
Falling from the stars  
Drenched in my pain again  
Becoming who we are

Laxus felt a pang in his chest at the lyrics. They oddly fit Lucy, she lost her father when they were trapped for seven years. Then the next few verses reminded him of her magic. If Lucy was like him at all, then she too listened to music that reflected her mood at the time. As he thought about the blonde's odd habits lately; drinking more than usual, counting her keys. Then a lightbulb went off as he looked over at her bag. Her keys.

He gulped as the song continued to play. He shouldn't snoop through her bag, but something was off about her and he didn't know what. He told himself No that he wouldn't look in her bag. He knew he would get to examine them later because she carried them around a lot, but this might be his only change to really examine them while she was distracted—especially because while they were out and about she was keeping them hidden so that the demons couldn't see that they were mages.

"God, grab a fucking grip, Laxus," he groaned to himself, "It's none of your goddamn business. If she wanted you to know something she'd tell you."

Then he felt shame wash over him of his own guilt for keeping his own secrets. He supposed after Tartaros that they were just all a little bit different.

Then when the song ended, he took a deep breath when he heard the shower water turn off. He was worried about Lucy and whatever was bothering her, he wanted to help make it right.

* * *

 **Song Choice was:** _**Wake Me Up When September Ends** _ **by Green Day**

**It was pretty fitting I thought for Lucy, plus September hasn't best month this year and thankfully it is almost over.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry I have been MIA from Fairy Tail stories. Got a bit burnt-out and was struggling with writer’s block on them—but such is life I suppose.**

**Updates on the Fairy Tail stories will probably be sporadic. I think I will just focus on this one and the GildLu story for now and getting these wrapped up.**

**Hope you enjoy the long awaited update! It was fun to write! :D**

* * *

 

After the fake couple had showered and changed into new clothes, they were just about to leave their fitness center room when Laxus noticed that Lucy was still in a funk. Finally he cleared his throat and asked, “So what would you like to do next?”

Her chocolate eyes looked at him before he watched as she took a slow inhale. She gave a slight shrug to her shoulders before she admitted, “Well it’d still be fun to relax at the pool this afternoon, but part of me wants to explore a little bit and get some groceries. I think if we are out all day it will seem odd.”

Laxus arched his brow and watched as Lucy grabbed her own bag before he asked, “In what way?”

Her head nodded from side to side in contemplation before she clarified, “Most newlyweds…well…you can’t get them to leave their room…”

He watched as a slight blush covered her cheeks and he couldn’t help but smirk at her innocence, but he understood where she was coming from. While he knew she wasn’t really suggesting that they go back to their room and fuck like bunnies, he knew she was implying that they should probably act like that is what they were going to go do. Then he thought to help ease the mood, he’d tease her a little when he added, “So I think what you are saying is you’d like some quality time _alone_ with your husband so that your physical needs are being met.”

Her response was exactly what he was hoping for when her face turned bright red and she stammered out in a high pitched voice, “L-LAXUS DREYAR!”

“Yes, my Celestial Seductress?” Laxus replied with a shit eating grin.

Finally she turned on him with a look so fierce that it made him gulp before she sighed out, “You are insufferable.”

He smirked again as she walked over towards him with her arms crossed then before he even knew what he was saying, the words flew out of his mouth, “It’s why you love me.”

This time he had to look away a little when he saw just how red she got and he heard the quickening of her heart. He was just a glutton for punishment he supposed, but at least she was no longer sad or angry like she had been when they were working out. He quickly cleared his voice and asked, “So should we go get some groceries first before we go to the pool?”

He was afraid to look at her in that moment, because to say he had been unaffected by their playful banter would have been an understatement. Lucy was warm and kind. She was so different than most girls and for the first time in a really long time, he truly felt like he could be himself around someone.

“I think that’s a great idea!” Lucy replied, “Then that way if I want to marinate anything, I can prep it before we go to the pool.”

“Marinate?” Laxus asked with an arch to his brow, “You can cook?”

As they began to make their way out of the room, she gave him a funny look before she giggled, “Of course, I’m a single girl that has been living alone for years with a destructive team. I can’t afford to constantly eat out.”

Laxus nodded his head in understanding as they reached the front desk area and waved goodbye to the resort’s workers. Then when they were outside, she asked him, “Why? Can you not cook?”

“No, not really,” Laxus admitted, “I mean I was more or less raised by Gramps and we were at the guild all the time so food was just made for us.”

“That makes sense,” Lucy responded in an understanding tone. She forgot for just a moment how Laxus hadn’t really had a traditional, well anything, growing up. She could see a far off look in his eyes like he was thinking something and she knew that she had already brought the mood down enough for the day earlier so she nudged him with her elbow and added with a sweet smile, “Well, I will cook tonight, Honey, but you have to at least help me cut vegetables and things like that. Plus I can teach you a few things.”

In her peripherals, she could see a couple walking towards them. Then if she didn’t for sure know she was awake, she would have sworn that she had been dreaming when Laxus wrapped his arm around her waist and replied in a husky tone, “That’s why I married you—you are the best.”

She nearly died on the spot.

* * *

 

Laxus was pushing the small cart around as Lucy perused through the aisles of the tiny grocery store at the resort. She was impressed by the array of foods that were there from all of Fiore. She was still so flustered from his comment earlier, but she wasn’t overly worked up like it had originally made her—especially when she overhead the couple that had walked past them comment on how cute they were. She supposed it was her own doing for asking Laxus earlier that morning to be more affectionate. Well she sure as hell got that and now she was regretting ever making that suggestion, because the hunk of a man next to her made her feel things she had never really experienced before and she couldn’t let herself fall for Laxus. He didn’t really seem the type to want to settle down. No…if she let herself play into the game too much, she could wind up getting even more hurt than she already was.

Her dark thoughts where finally broken when Laxus appeared next to her and asked, “So, my Celestial Seductress, what’s on the menu tonight?”

She gave him a quick glare before she whispered out in exasperation, “Does that really need to be my pet name?”

He gave her a devilish smirk before he asked, “So you are my pet now too? Does that mean I get to put a leash on you and tie you up like Sherlock did with Nina?”

Her breath caught in her throat at the mention of her fanfiction with her OC as she quickly looked around to make sure nobody overheard them. The man was impossible.

Then before she could berate him, he pointed out, “Hey, you haven’t updated that story in a while. What gives? You kind of left it on a cliffhanger.”

As they approached the produce section, she gave him an exasperated look before she shrugged her shoulders, “Oh I don’t know, Laxus. Life? You know the world was more or less about to end so it was a little hard to slip into my writer’s space.”

He seemed appeased with the answer before he asked, “What’s your writer’s space?”

She began to pick out some potatoes, zucchinis, mushrooms, and other veggies before she responded, “It’s the place I go in my head to escape reality.”

They continued to walk after, she got all of the proper vegetables she wanted, towards the meat section when he added, “I assumed you had a particular place you liked to write too.”

“I do have that, it’s at my desk by my window,” Lucy admitted as she studied the various meats the grocery store had available, “But I can write physically almost anywhere. I’d love to have my own separate room someday for just that and it be filled with books, a big comfy chair, and a big writer’s desk.”

He didn’t make any sort of response as she picked up two ribeye steaks, before he nodded his head towards the meat and asked, “How do you plan on cooking those? I didn’t see a grill.”

“You don’t always need a grill to cook steak, Mr. Dreyar,” Lucy smirked at him as they continued on towards the fruit section.

Then just when she thought the conversation about her fanfiction was finished, he stated, “I liked Watson more than Sherlock, myself. He seemed like a better fit for Nina.”

Lucy stopped in her tracks before she turned around and asked, “Laxus, do you actually follow my story?”

He gave her a playful smile before he replied, “Of course, you are an awesome writer.”

A deep blush fell on her face as she picked up some strawberries and bananas. She quickly murmured a thank you which made Laxus’s grin grow wider before she spun around towards him again and asked, “Wait…have you ever left a review?”

Now it was his turn to look a little caught off guard when he cleared his throat and replied, “Maybe, but I’m not going to tell you my username.”

“WHY NOT?!” Lucy asked a little too loudly, but luckily nobody even heard them, “That’s not fair! You know mine!”

“I only know yours by chance,” Laxus laughed.

“Still,” she huffed, “It’s not fair.”

Laxus just shrugged his shoulders as Lucy continued to lead them through the store. He was enjoying himself quite a bit. He liked seeing a new side to her, especially one that she had only shared with one other person. It made him feel…special…

After she had dropped some melting chocolate into the cart, she looked at him with narrowed eyes and asked in a skeptical tone, “Please tell me you aren’t BigCock69?”

He barked out a laugh that only made her eyes get more narrowed before he replied, “No, that’s not me, although I’ve seen that dude’s comments. I think you have a stalker.”

“Mmhmmm,” Lucy grumbled as she continued on towards the alcohol section.

Then to lighten the mood a smidge, Laxus teased, “However, I am flattered that your first guess was about my big cock. I suppose a pervert like you would think about cocks a lot.”

He could tell she was about to lay into him with her words, then he watched as her shoulders dropped and she let out the heaviest sigh he had ever heard from her before she stated, “You’re impossible.”

The grin never left his face after that as he watched his “wife” shop for groceries.

* * *

 

After the couple had put away their groceries, they changed into their swimming attire and cover-ups before they made their way to the large pool that was in the pamphlet.

As they walked together towards the pool area, Lucy couldn’t help but feel…flustered. The man next to her was not at all what she had previously imagined. She knew he was a good guy deep down, but she always assumed he’d be like how he was when he was around everyone at Fairy Tail; kind of closed off and distant. This Laxus was fun and had a great sense of humor. It was a lot to try and wrap her mind around.

When they reached the tropical paradise, once again Lucy noticed how it must be magic changing the atmosphere around them, Laxus sat down their very large beach bag and looked around at the empty space. She was kind of glad they had this big open space to themselves, but she supposed it kind of proved her point about how newlyweds really wanted their…alone time…

“Do you burn easy?” Laxus asked, totally breaking her concentration when he took off his shirt to reveal his glorious body and those lickable tattoos.

“Huh?” Lucy asked in response.

He smirked at her before he teased, “Eyes up here, Lucy.”

Oh she gave him her eyes, but it was more like daggers that if she could stab him she would have, before he laughed and asked again, “Do you burn in the sun easily? They have the lacrimas set up pretty high here to mimic being at the actual beach with the heat and sun.”

“Yes I do actually,” Lucy replied nervously, because she didn’t know if Virgo threw in any sunscreen or not.

She quickly opened the zipper to the bag and was relieved to see it sitting on top of their towels. She looked up at Laxus who had already put some sunglasses on and was leaning back in one of the lounge chairs and a lightbulb went off in her head—it was her turn for a little bit of payback.

She too put on her large oversized sunglasses before she stood up and removed her cover. She couldn’t see Laxus’s eyes through his sunglasses and she was thankful that she had picked out very dark ones too so that he could not see her eyes studying him as she revealed her swimsuit. She tried not to grin, because even though she couldn’t see his eyes, it was hard to miss the gulp he just had as she squirted the first dose of sunscreen in her hand and began to rub it across her nearly exposed chest. Virgo had done an excellent job to say the least when Lucy requested a “honeymoon” appropriate bikini. The Maid Spirit, even though she liked to ask for punishment frequently, really enjoyed dishing it out herself and im today’s case—Laxus was getting a heaping spoonful of torture.

The swimsuit that Lucy had decided upon was white, it was her honeymoon after all, and was more or less an array of strings with appropriate triangles to cover the necessary bits. She had a damn hard time getting into it with all of the strings, but she had Virgo’s help thankfully.

However, she could no longer keep a straight face, because Laxus’s body went completely rigid. When she turned around so her back was to him, she revealed the biggest grin she think she had ever had in her life. The backside of the swimsuit was nearly as good as her front assets because the back more or less just covered her ass crack but the fabric flared out just a little in an almost heart like pattern to accentuate her curvy hips and ass even more. Laxus had of course seen her in a swimsuit before, but never one like this. Then to tease him further, she squirted more sunscreen into her hands and bent over, giving him a delicious view, as she rubbed sunscreen on her shins and legs.

She couldn’t help herself, she felt like her inner vixen had been released when she practically moaned out his name and asked, “Laxus, can you help me in the parts I can’t reach?”

When she turned around, he was already upright with his legs spread slightly. She tried to resume her poker face as she handed him the sunscreen and then set her ass down between his legs on the lounge chair. She felt his body stiffen slightly as she leaned her body up against his. She didn’t need Dragon senses to notice that his own breath had gone somewhat rigid…just like hers.

He cleared his throat before he squirted the sunscreen in her hands and began to work his magical hands on her back. Lucy quickly realized how big of a mistake this actually was. From the moment his hand touched her, her body became alive and aware that she was very physically attracted to this man—but now she was also becoming attracted to him in other ways too.

She tried to think of unsexy things to distract her body from betraying her, but nothing was working. Not even when she thought of Jiggle Butt Gang. Instead her thoughts just went to how Laxus’s fingers were working in the sunscreen on her hips and how they were the only ones here and if she were writing a book, she’d write a sex scene where he was sliding his fingers under the strings of her swimsuit and then reaching his hand around to play with her clit. But no…this was real life where she was just torturing herself with her own thoughts. Gods…maybe he was right…maybe she was a pervert?

She took a relieved breath when his hands momentarily left her now hot and flustered body, but the bit of reprieve was suddenly gone when Laxus began to work the sunscreen in around her neck. His hands were fantastic and if he ever wanted a side job as a masseur he’d succeed greatly.

However, much to her mind’s dislike, her body betrayed her when he gently rubbed the sunscreen in on the tops of her ears. She could feel his peck muscles brushing up against her back and the hairs on her arms stood on end and she knew she’d have to shave tonight because her legs were completely covered in goosebumps. She began to bite her lip, because it was the only way to keep herself from moaning.

Then to both her disappointment, but somewhat relief, Laxus whispered in her ear, “A resort worker is headed this way.”

“Ok,” she replied a little breathlessly as Laxus handed her the sunscreen over her shoulder. But she noticed that he didn’t move away from her and she remained between his legs when she reached over and sat the sunscreen back in the bag.

The demon worker finally reached them and asked, “May I get you two a beverage?”

“An old fashioned,” Laxus said without hesitation just as Lucy said, “Hard lemonade.”

The worker smiled at them both before he bowed and replied, “I will have those right out to you.”

Lucy couldn’t help but shift a little on the lounge because her body could just not calm down. Then she remembered what Erza and Gray said earlier that morning about drinking alcohol when she turned in the lounge chair to see Laxus. He was now starting to lean back, but did not seem to mind that Lucy was still between his legs before she asked, “Hey, do you remember what Erza and Gray said this morning about taking turns with drinking. Um…should we do that?”

She could see him smirk a little before he replied, “Lucy, as long as we don’t get shit faced, then I don’t care if we both drink. Sounds like your teammates are a bunch of lightweights though if they got to take turns. Besides it takes a lot of alcohol for me to get drunk…or at least several very strong drinks.”

She couldn’t help but laugh, because it was more or less true. Anytime her team got drunk together…crazy shit happened. At least she was with a strong partner now so she could try and let lose and relax a bit.

She was just about to get up to make more room for him on the lounge chair when she felt his hand on her arm and he replied in a low voice, “You don’t have to get up.”

Her heart may have skipped a few beats before she whispered back nervously, “Aren’t you uncomfortable though?”

She watched as he swallowed again before he replied in a strained voice, “In some ways…yes.”

But before she could inquire further, she noticed two things; first, another couple had joined the pool area and Lucy could for sure tell that they were newlyweds because they were making out with each other as they clumsily tried to find a place to sit. The second was the waiter was already coming back with their drinks.

Then Laxus added in a low voice, “Besides, we look like a couple.”

Lucy just nodded her head in agreement as the waiter finally approached them and handed them their drinks before he went to take the other couple’s order. As she took a swig of her drink, she couldn’t help but smile a little because at least she was no longer feeling sad. She was actually somewhat enjoying herself.

* * *

 

Overall, Lucy had a fantastic day. As she began to prepare for their dinner, while Laxus was showering, she couldn’t help but smile as she thought about their afternoon by the pool and getting groceries with him earlier. She only had the one drink that afternoon because for the first time in a long time, she felt relaxed and safe enough that she read a book to relieve some stress. She giggled slightly at the memory of how she was more or less sprawled out on the gigantic sleeping man she now called husband as she slipped into another reality for a bit and escaped. It was a lot of fun.

After they got back to their suite, Lucy had jumped in the shower to rinse the sunscreen off of her body and one of her favorite feelings in the world was that warmed skin feel from the sun and then laying in a cool air-conditioned room. That night she decided to keep it pretty casual, since the two decided they would stay in for the rest of evening, so Lucy just opted for some soft leggings and a lose off the shoulder, oversized sweatshirt with her hair up in a messy bun.

As she surveyed the kitchen utensils that were at her disposal, she opened up her boxed wine that she had purchased earlier and began to pour herself a very large glass of dry red wine. After she took a sip of it, she began to tap her fingers on the counter before she said to herself, “Ok, we will do a side salad to start, then the ribeye steaks with baked potatoes and balsamic glazed veggies with chocolate covered fruit as a dessert.”

“That sounds delicious,” Laxus added as he walked into the room shirtless and still towel drying his hair.

Lucy nearly spilt her wine because she had no idea he was already done showering when she breathed out, “Jesus, Laxus—you scared me half to death.”

“Sorry,” the blonde male grinned back at her before he walked over to the fridge and pulled out one of the beers he had picked out earlier.

As Lucy began to prep the kitchen for the meal, Laxus asked, “Is there anything I can help with?”

She smiled as she reached into one of the cabinets and grabbed a cutting board before she replied, “As a matter of fact, yes. Can you get the lettuce from the fridge and begin rinsing it off?”

He nodded in agreement before he took the towel back into the bathroom and came out with a black t-shirt that he put on in front of her. She tried to take a steadying breath because she wasn’t sure how she was going to get used to watching him be so casual in front of her these next two weeks.

To distract herself, she quickly cut the lettuce into chunks before she grabbed a colander and handed it to him and instructed, “Now make sure you rinse these well, because sometimes dirt gets down in the lettuce.”

The large, powerful man clearly looked out of element but did as he was instructed. If she were his actual wife, she’d smack his delicious looking ass and tell him to get to it—but she refrained from acting on her impulses and grabbed the tomatoes and cucumbers she bought for the salad as well and lined them up for Laxus’s next task.

As they were casually prepping dinner, with a few tips here and there from Lucy to Laxus, she finally asked the elder mage, “So do you think Erza and Gray noticed anything today? I felt like all of the workers we came across were very nice and harmless.”

Laxus nodded his head in agreement before he responded, “I told them where we were located, so I think they would have come and got us if anything was too suspicious.”

She nodded her head in agreement as she took a drink from her wine glass before Laxus added, “I still think we will have to be on the alert for tomorrow. Even if this blood sucker doesn’t attack, he or she will most likely still be present and studying his victims.”

The thought made Lucy shudder before she whispered, “I just hope we can stop whoever or whatever is doing this before someone else gets hurt.” Her mind instantly went to the couple that was at the pool today and how ignorantly happy they looked.

“Agreed,” Laxus stated before he chuckled.

“What’s so funny?” Lucy asked with a smile.

“Just thinking about Erza and Gray spending the day together being a couple,” Laxus grinned, “It probably wasn’t as relaxing as our day ways.”

Lucy laughed in agreement as she began to season the meat and before she began to preheat the oven for the vegetables. “You are probably right,” Lucy smiled, “I keep picturing Erza trying to make Gray ride the same horse with her for their horseback riding.”

Laxus chuckled in agreement as he plated up the side salads and watched as Lucy seasoned the vegetables with olive oil, balsamic vinaigrette, garlic, and seasoned salt. She looked like a master at work before he asked, “Does a cooking class sound fun to you?”

She shrugged her shoulders before she replied, “I probably know more than the chefs here.”

Laxus’s brows rose before he laughed, “Well, look who is Mrs. Confident Dreyar.”

She couldn’t hide the smile on her face at the nickname after she put the veggies in the oven and turned to her “husband” and stated, “I grew up in a mansion with the best chefs in all of Fiore. They taught me quite a bit and I’ve only gotten better since I left home.”

“Oh really?” Laxus asked, “How so?”

“Well,” Lucy shrugged before she replied honestly, “When you only have so much money for ingredients—you can get pretty damn creative.”

A small frown fell upon Laxus’s face before he asked, “Do you still struggle financially like that?” The idea kind of pissed him off. Gray and Erza both lived in nice places; hell Natsu had his own house even though it was a disheveled heap. He just didn’t realize that someone in his guild was struggling so much.

Then Lucy replied, “It’s not that bad anymore. It was before Tenrou, but things are getting better.”

Laxus just nodded his head but remained silent as he watched his fake wife happily cook them a meal. She was always so happy at the guild—he had no idea. Then as she was prepping the skillet for the steaks, he looked over and saw her keys sitting on the counter. Something didn’t look right about them. His mind went back to her counting them, so he began to count them too…Fourteen.

His eyes narrowed, because that didn’t seem right so he began to try and list off all the one she knew…the maid…the goat…the perverted cow…

“Laxus,” Lucy said, breaking his concentration, “How do you like your steak cooked?”

“Medium rare,” Laxus replied with a smile.

Lucy smiled back at him and turned her back to him as she put the first steak down and he glanced back over at the keys and began running them through his head again…who was he forgetting?

Then to his surprise she added, “This trip is a lot different than what I thought it would be when Mira first told us about it?”

He knew he’d have to drop the key thing for now, but maybe later when the stars were out, he could get her to jog his memory of the various constellations. He knew there was someone he was forgetting…

Finally he responded with, “How so?”

He watched her carefully as she took a breath and was carefully choosing her words before she shrugged and admitted, “I just didn’t think you’d be this much fun.”

He pretended to look hurt before he teased, “Well, I didn’t think you would be either.”

“Whatever,” she waved him off, “Everyone loves me.”

“Oh I know,” Laxus stated in a happy yet sarcastic tone.

She scowled at him playfully before she grew serious and said, “But seriously Laxus, I’ve really enjoyed getting to know you. You aren’t at all what I expected.”

“And what did you expect?” he asked growing serious too.

“You seem very closed off to everyone,” Lucy continued, “I notice it when Gray and Erza are around too…”

He nodded his head in understanding before he admitted, “Not everyone is as quick to forgive as you. I still have to earn my trust back after what I did.”

“Laxus, that was a long time ago,” Lucy whispered.

“Maybe,” Laxus clarified, “But for some people, it is easier for them to see me as a serious person who can protect the guild now. Besides, if I let my guard down to much bad things usually happen.”

“What do you mean?” Lucy asked.

Laxus just looked at her with his stormy grey eyes and shook his half drank beer bottle and smirked, “Sorry wife, I haven’t had enough to be that honest yet.”

She gave him a playful smirk and teased, “Well maybe if you were drinking more than a 4% ABV beer it’d help.”

His smile remained on his face when he ended their serious conversation with, “Yep, you’ve definitely been hanging around Cana too much.”

* * *

 

Lucy was enjoying herself quite a bit tonight. Their dinner was delicious and the two decided to sit out by the fire pit that Laxus lit for them with his lightning and they decided to star gaze. She was surprised, because it was actually Laxus’s idea and she was even more shocked when he began to ask her about which constellations were which.

She had no idea how long she talked as she began to tell him about some of the lore. She was just about to get to the Aquarius constellation when Laxus asked her, “Can I get you some more wine? I was going to grab another beer?”

She looked down at her empty glass and smiled before she asked, “Was I boring you?”

“Absolutely not,” Laxus replied honestly, “I learned a few constellations when I was travelling alone before Tenrou. They always made me think of you when I laid out under the stars at night.”

“What?” Lucy asked in barely a whisper.

Laxus looked up at the sky before he admitted, “The night sky always makes me think of you.”

Lucy had no idea what she should say or if she should say anything after having three glasses of wine. Then Laxus surprised her further when he stated, “Actually, when I’m getting you more wine, how about I begin to run you some bath water? It’s the least I can do after you made us that fantastic dinner.”

“O-ok,” she replied quietly—still in shock.

Laxus just gave her a faint smile before he got up and went into their bedroom. As she watched the man walk away, she couldn’t help but smile and then quietly pinch herself to make sure that this wasn’t a dream. Then as she turned back around and looked up at the Aquarius constellation, she couldn’t help but smile and whisper out, “Yep…this is real.”

In the distance, far past what her mortal eyes could see, a pair of red eyes began peering at her through the trees downwind of where she was sitting.

* * *

 

Lucy couldn’t help but smile at what Laxus had done for her. The bath water was just the right temperature and he had filled it with lots of bubbles.

She let out a gleeful giggle as she sat her wine glass down on the edge of the tub next to the book she really wanted to finish reading and began to strip down.

 As she eased herself into the tub, she couldn’t help but reflect on the day. It was nothing short of perfect thanks to Laxus. However, a frown fell on her face because the mission was only temporary…then things would probably go back to the way they were before and she’d be alone…again. She was really starting to think of him as a genuine friend. He made her forget about all of the crap that she had been through. Laxus Dreyar was slowly becoming a rock for her troubled mind.

She began to hum to herself as she leaned back and closed her eyes. Everything was so peaceful and she had no idea how long she had been laying there when she opened her eyes to reach for more wine. However, instead of seeing the starry night sky that she was expecting, her eyes were staring straight into a pair of red eyes peering at her from the other side of the glass.

* * *

 

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	8. Chapter 8

**I apologize for any typos, as you are probably aware...I’ve updated A LOT today and have been struggling with an illness.**

**Please enjoy and remember to comment!**

* * *

 

“LAXUS!” Lucy screamed in fear because her keys were still on the kitchen counter.

The eyes suddenly vanished just as Laxus came bursting into the bathroom, “LUCY, WHAT IS IT?!”

She was already grabbing a towel, not even worrying about the fact that she was naked and covered in sudsy bubbles. She pointed at the glass and cried, “There was some fucker out there with red eyes watching me!”

He didn’t hesitate as he teleported out of the room as she quickly tried to dry her feet and run after him to help.

Laxus could smell the arousal in the air as he exited the front door so much that it made him gag. He quickly went over to where the bathroom window was and saw that Lucy was no longer in there, but then immediately became disgusted when he saw a pile of semen squirted all over the ground.

“Mother fucker,” Laxus snarled because the sent smelled familiar to him, but every time he thought he had the scent…it vanished.

His nostrils were then hit with the scent of Lucy as she ran up behind him, still in a towel, “Did you find anything?!”

“Don’t come over here,” Laxus grumbled.

Her eyes widened but she remained where she stood before she shakily asked, “Laxus, what is it? Something is over there isn’t it?”

He nodded his head before he admitted the truth, “Fucking pervert was masturbating.”

He could see the fear and discomfort in her eyes as tears started to well up. He figured it would be a difficult thing for her—her privacy had been completely violated and she had every right to feel scared or pissed as fucking hell. Then she whispered, “Do you recognize the scent?”

He felt frustrated because he felt like he should know. His first thought went to Mitsu, but his instincts were telling him that was a lie. It was like Mitsu…but different. It was confusing and frustrating so he replied honestly, “I honestly don’t know. It feels like it keeps changing.”

“What do you mean?” Lucy asked with an uncertain voice.

He sighed in annoyance with himself, not at her, before he recalled something Freed had told him about demons. “Do you remember when I told you Freed had been studying different types of demons?” he asked.

She nodded her head yes before he continued, “Trickery was amongst them. Did you know that some animals can disguise their scents from predators?”

“Yeah…” Lucy replied because she once took an advance biology course, “But…isn’t this person or demon the predator? Not me?”

Laxus internally smirked because Lucy was definitely a predator in nothing but a towel, but he kept his comments to himself, before he elaborated, “Well I’m not saying that you are the predator, just that some demons have the ability mask themselves like this. Which would make it damn impossible for anyone with heightened senses to track them. And really not even people, a dog would have a hard time too.”

She got a thoughtful look on her face before she replied, “Which explains why nobody can seem to track the person who has been attacking people. Scent plays an integral part in crime solving sometimes, especially if there is evidence.”

He was glad that she no longer seemed scared when she threw her hands on her hips and declared, “Let the bastard come after me! At least I know I will whoop his ass before he harms any other girl!”

At her bold statement, it was hard to hard the smirk now. Her confidence inspired him but he also found it to be quite selfless and endearing, not to mention a bit sexy. The fact that she was willing to be some fucking perverts bait over a woman who couldn’t defend herself was quite honorable. His Gramps would be proud of the woman Lucy had become.

He watched as she shuttered before she looked at him and changed the subject, “Do you think there are shades in the bathroom? I don’t want to be peeped on every night…”

His smirk widened as they turned to go inside before he replied, “I’m sure there are.”

He watched as relief set in through her body language before he added, “If not, I’d gladly accept the responsibility to stand outside the window every night to guard you while you bathe.”

They had just reached the door, and he still had a smile on his face, when realization hit her and she turned to look at him and yelled, “LUCY KICK!”

* * *

 

Lucy was fairly certain that she was in fact dead after her day’s training with Laxus. He made her do lunges, kickboxing, hand combat, more lunges, squats, sprints…and more lunges. The guy was a goddamn machine and she was nothing but Jell-O.

He had just dropped her back off at their suite before he went to go find Erza and Gray to inform them of what happened last night. They figured she would be fine as long as she stayed inside with the doors locked. The perpetrator only seemed to be attacking at night and Laxus had a hunch that it wasn’t Mitsu, nor would Mitsu be so stupid to try and come at Lucy in her own room. Instead they agreed that Laxus would go talk to Erza and Gray then come back. Plus, Lucy did NOT feeling like traipsing all over the goddamn resort after the brutal torture Laxus had put her through.

She had just finished showering and wanted to do nothing but collapse and sleep the rest of the day, but it was nearing lunch so she figured that she should prepare something since the Maple Festival wasn’t starting until 7 p.m. She knew she couldn’t go the whole damn day without food.

After she changed into some short shorts and a tank-top, she went into the kitchen to poke around and see what they had. She knew the resort had stocked a few things and as she scrummaged through the cabinets and fridge, she decided she could easily make them some soup and sandwiches.

As she pulled out several of the ingredients, she saw an interesting device on the cabinet corner. Her eyes widened when she saw that it was a port for her iLacrima. She quickly dashed into their bedroom and thanked the gods that getting to keep your music device was on the small list of things you could bring to the resort.

Once she inserted it into the device, she uncorked one of the bottles of wine they had and poured herself a generous glass and selected her first song. She didn’t take that long of a shower so she probably still had a good thirty minutes before Laxus got back as their suite began to loudly play Bruno Mar’s “24K Magic”…

_Tonight_

_I just want to take you higher_

_Throw your hands up in the sky_

_Let's set this party off right_

* * *

 

 Laxus ran his hands down his face as he approached his and Lucy’s suite. The talk with Erza and Gray of course went over about as well as he thought. Surprisingly Erza was on his side. He noticed ever since Tartaros she had chilled out quite a bit. Her personality was still abrasive, like with how intense she was with being Gray’s “wife”, but when it came to developing plans, she was a lot more reserved and thoughtful than headstrong like Team Natsu’s prior reputation. However, Gray was still being a dick about everything. Of course he was pissed that Lucy didn’t come with him, but it was Lucy’s choice to stay. Probably the biggest contributing factor of that was so she wouldn’t have to walk after the intense workout they did. She asked him to push her, so he did. It was actually kind of cute watching her swear at him and all the ways she was going to take him out someday. Made him proud.

Just when he reached the front door, he completely froze. Music was blaring inside, specifically Bruno Mars…

He slowly opened the door and snuck inside, then his eyes widened and he couldn’t help but smirk at the sight before him. Lucy was pouring herself a heaping glass of wine, but from the look of the bottle it may have been her second heaping glass, as she shook her ass and sang:

_'Cause your sex takes me to paradise_

_Yeah your sex takes me to paradise_

_And it shows, yeah, yeah, yeah_

_'Cause you make me feel like, I've been locked out of heaven_

_For too long, for too long_

_Yeah you make me feel like, I've been locked out of heaven_

_For too long, for too long_

_Oh oh oh oh, yeah, yeah, yeah_

_Can I just stay here?_

_Spend the rest of my days here?_

_Oh oh oh oh, yeah, yeah, yeah_

_Can't I just stay here?_

_Spend the rest of my days here?_

He had never before seen her look so carefree and happy as she used the wine bottle as a microphone and then it all came to a crashing halt when she spun around to see him standing there, grinning like an idiot, watching her.

“WHAT THE FUCK, LAXUS?!” Lucy screeched as she tried to quickly turn off the music. Honestly she had lost track of time. Her playlist went on a Bruno Mars shuffle and she was just having too much fun…

“Nothing, Wife,” Laxus smirked in amusement, “Just admiring the view.”

She shot him an annoyed look. This was probably now in her top five most embarrassing moments but she couldn’t blame anyone but herself. Then as he took a seat at the counter he teased, “Please don’t stop on my account.”

She continued to have narrowed eyes at him as she took the sandwich she had plated up for him and slid it across the counter towards him as she began to pour him a bowl of tomato soup.

“Food and a show?” he teased, “This is exactly why I married you.”

She snorted in amusement as she turned around and murmured, “You’re just lucky I said yes to your stubborn ass.”

She didn’t have to look at him to know he was grinning in amusement before sat the soup down and gave him a spoon too and asked, “Can I get you a drink?”

“You don’t have to do that,” he objected. Even though she was clearly embarrassed, she was still a fucking angel.

“I’m already up, Laxus,” she smiled at him.

“I’ll have a water,” he replied back with a smile as she got him some ice water.

“So what did Erza and Gray have to say?” she asked as she handed him the water.

After he had finished chewing he replied, “Erza took it cool. We will all be on alert tonight. Gray is in agreement though that we don’t think it’s Mitsu, so that’s good.”

Lucy nodded her head before she asked, “Do you think the demon will attack tonight?”

“I do,” Laxus replied grimly.

Then just as Lucy was about to say something else, there was a knock at the door. The two stiffened and Lucy grabbed her keys as Laxus nodded for her to hide next to the wall while he opened the door. If someone was ready for a fight they wouldn’t see her attack, just him.

Laxus looked out the peep hole and then nodded towards her that everything was cool. Lucy relaxed a little just as he opened the door to see one of the hostesses of the resort. She bowed to them and handed Laxus a note before she walked away.

After he shut the door, she couldn’t help but say, “Well that was weird.”

He opened the letter and quickly read it before he summarized, “Tonight they’d like everyone to wear traditional kimonos, yukatas, or a montsuki. If nobody brought any with them, then there are some to rent.”

“Oh,” Lucy replied, “That won’t be a problem. Virgo can get us some.”

Laxus nodded his head before he replied, “That’s cool. I haven’t worn a montsuki in quite a while though.”

“I’m sure you’ll look sexy as always,” Lucy laughed and waved away his concern. Then she realized what she had said and quickly blushed.

Then the arrogant, cocky bastard smirked, “Glad to you know you find me so sexy.”

Her face was still red as she summoned out Virgo before she muttered, “Shut up,” which made him laugh even harder.

* * *

 

Laxus had just finished putting on his montsuki. He forgot how many layers were involved, but luckily Lucy seemed to be taking awhile too and she had Virgo’s help. After he put on the outside coat, he couldn’t help but smile at the dark blacks and blues that Virgo had picked out for him. The Maid Spirit had even given him a traditional katana that appeared to have a lightning design etched into the blade.

As he studied the sword, he couldn’t help but murmur, “This is so bad ass.” Then he used a little bit of his magic and sent it into the sword and watched it come alive with lightning.

He smirked to himself before he sheathed it, just as Lucy exited the bedroom. Laxus turned to greet her and was about to tell her about the sword, but somehow he lost whatever words he was going to use when he saw his pretend wife standing before him in her traditional kimono.

His eyes drank in every aspect of her appearance from her wooden sandals and dark toed socks to the matching black and blue kimono of hers with an intricate constellation design that seemed to glow as she moved. He had never seen anything like it before. She looked like a true embodiment of the night sky. However, nothing was more magical than her face. Her hair was pulled back in a side bun that was gathered together with a flower in the shape of a star that glowed. Her lips were a dark shade of red and her deep brown eyes were shinning at him in a way that if he wasn’t a gentleman anymore, he would have pinned her against the wall and ravaged her body until dawn.

“Lucy, um…wow,” he finally stated as he internally face palmed his awkwardness.

She gave him a smirk before she replied sweetly, “Glad to know you find me so sexy.” Then she tried to daintily open her fan to only have it go flying across the room.

“Son of a bitch,” she laughed as she walked over to retrieve her fan.

Laxus couldn’t help but chuckle too, because even though she was still a total goofball, she was still the sexiest woman in Fiore to him. He smirked at her and held out his arm before he asked, “Are you ready, my Celestial Seductress?”

“Absolutely, Thunder Butt,” she quipped back with an endearing smile which made him laugh even harder. Then she linked her arm through his and together they headed towards the Maple Festival.

* * *

 

If Lucy hadn’t seen it for herself, she would have never had guessed that this many people were staying at the resort, or that worked here. There seemed to be hundreds of people everywhere and all were drinking, playing games, talking, playing instruments, and dancing.

She clutched on tighter to Laxus’s arm when she got bumped by one of the drunk guests. He looked down and saw what had happened and pulled her closer to him before he stated, “Let’s find Erza and Gray and get a seat.”

She just nodded in agreement, because if there was some blood sucking demon loose that started to attack, this place would be on a rampage.

After about thirty minutes of searching, they found Erza and Gray on a blanket underneath one of the gorgeous maple trees. Lucy smiled at her friends when they got closer before she stated, “Erza you look amazing!”

It was true, the warrior woman looked both elegant and fierce in her deep red and white kimono. Her hair was done in a high bun that was being held together by two pins that could easily be used as daggers. Gray was also in a matching kimono and drinking some sake as Erza replied, “Lucy, you look wonderful too! Did Virgo make that for you?”

“Yes she did,” Lucy replied warmly as she took a seat next to the woman with Laxus’s help, before he sat down next to her, “She really is amazing.”

Erza nodded in agreement before she added, “Indeed she is. I am glad that I thought to pack these just in case.”

Gray rolled his eyes at the comment before he murmured, “Yes, Erza, you came prepared for just about everything.”

Lucy shook her head at how Gray was still being so pessimistic and chose to ignore his blasé attitude. Then Erza poured some plum wine for Lucy as Laxus poured himself some sake and together the Guild Mates began to enjoy the festival as they also scanned the crowd for any threats.

After about an hour of enjoying decadent foods and drinks, Lucy froze when she saw Mitsu appear on a stage about 50 feet from them. Laxus turned to see what she was looking at and then repositioned himself so that he was closer to Lucy and could see Mitsu without having to turn.

Erza leaned over to her and asked, “Is that him?”

She nodded just before he raised his hands in the air. The crowd went silent before he got a devilishly good smile on and stated, “Everyone, we are so glad you are all here to celebrate the Maple Festival with us this year. It is always my favorite every year and I have to say, this is going to be a year to remember.”

“Yeah, because some demon is going to suck everyone dry,” Gray whispered.

Lucy didn’t take her eyes off the stage when Mitsu continued, “Now, please give your attention to our lovely actors and actresses as they perform a play for all of you called, ‘The Fallen Star.’”

She felt her body stiffen at the name. While she had no idea what play this was or who wrote it, the name was awfully foreboding. Everyone grew quiet and the lanterns around them dimmed so that only stage shone brightly. She could feel Laxus’s shoulder brush against hers and somewhat of a relief washed over her knowing that he was there and alert of what was going on, because she couldn’t tear her eyes from the stage when a beautiful maiden appeared and the narrator began the story…

_A long time ago in a faraway land lived a beautiful Princess who loved the stars more than anything else. Every night she would sneak away to a different part of the castle to watch the stars as long as she could keep her eyes open. Then after many years, she could finally name all of the constellations and knew when they were at their brightest season._

_However, the Princess’s father did not like that she studied and tried to learn more about the world beyond this realm and banished her from ever stepping foot outside at night again; along with burning any ancient scrolls or texts that helped her dream of another world that was not her own._

_After some time, the Princess matured and many suitors began to appear at her door. While she looked for a man who was kind and who would show her the stars again, the King was only interested in the wealth he would accumulate from marrying her off._

_Once a prince from another kingdom had been picked as the best suitor, even though the prince was cruel and uncaring, the King threw a huge banquet to commemorate the event for the thought he was the best match for his daughter. That night the Princess made a vow to run away and never return._

_After she had slipped a sleeping draft into the wine, she waited for all of the guards, her betrothed, and her father to fall asleep before she escaped the palace in the middle of the night with nothing but the stars as her guide._

_After many days of travelling, the Princess happened upon a farm. Starvation called out to her and as she snuck closer to the house that smelled of delicious food, a young farmer caught her._

_He did not recognize the Princess for she was now in another land outside of her father’s reach when he asked her what she was doing. She stuck a deal with the farmer that she would help him with his tasks if he would allow her to eat some of the food he had prepared. The farmer being both kind and wise accepted the offer and welcomed her into his home. When she asked him for his name, he simply stated Boötes. She got a knowing smile on her face before she enquired further and asked like the constellation. His reply was simple and short; one in the same._

_Many months had passed and the secret Princess and Boötes began to fall in love. She had never known such joy as being free and late one summer night when the stars were at their brightest he asked for her hand in marriage and promised her the stars every night until they day they died. The Princess looked at him and accepted his offer with a sweet kiss._

_Years had passed but her Father had never given up trying to find his daughter who had shamed him. For years his scouts had scoured the lands in search of her until one in particular came and talked about a beautiful young woman who was the wife of a farmer, with many children, who gazed at the stars every night. The King knew it was his daughter and sent his army to capture her and kill the family._

_One evening after the Princess had put her children to sleep, her father’s men finally came for her. They were outnumbered by 10,000 and the Princess feared she would forever lose the life she had come to love. Then her husband turned to her and told her of an ancient tale as he pulled out a golden dagger. All the Princess had to do was stab him in the heart and a Celestial army would come to her aid, she would never be bothered by her Father again and their children would live._

_The Princess was heartbroken for she did not want to lose the only man she had ever loved; the man who had given her the stars. However, as her Father and his army approached, she knew she had to trust in the man that she had fallen in love with and plunged the dagger into his chest._

_Suddenly a mighty Celestial host appeared from the heavens and wiped out all of her enemies, leaving none alive. While her children still slept in the beds, the leader of the Celestial Army informed her that her husband was indeed the living figure of Boötes the constellation and only every few hundred years did a Celestial being ever find the type of love that they had. However, her husband would watch over her from the sky until they could be reunited someday._

_After his speech, he and his army disappeared, and the Princess wept for her loss—never being able to see her lover again._

Lucy’s body was now shaking violently but luckily Erza and Gray did not notice as the crowd clapped and cheered loudly as the actors all began to bow on the stage.

She used the distraction to get up and she tried to run as fast as she could away from the festivities as tears streamed down her face, but wearing the kimono made it difficult to get away fast. She was in a blind panic as her chest heaved and everything spun around her. She felt like she couldn’t breathe when she collapsed on the outskirts of the party under a tree in the dark.

* * *

 

Laxus had been both watching the play and the crowd. So far no suspicious activity was happening, but what he was noticing was how Lucy began to shake next to him when the farmer told the princess to kill him. He was about to ask her if she needed anything when the play ended and she got up and ran away.

Luckily Gray and Erza didn’t notice when he lied and leaned over to Erza and stated, “We will get some more drinks,” before he got up and ran after her.

It wasn’t hard for him to track her through the crowd and dark because he could smell her tears and then finally he saw her huddled on the ground sobbing and dry heaving as she cried out, “Aquarius, I’m so sorry!”

Realization finally hit him as he approached her cautiously. She flinched when he gently put his hand on her back before he asked, “Lucy, let me be with you?”

As he leaned over, he suddenly found her with her arms wrapped around him tightly as she continued to sob in the dark.

* * *

 

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